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^f . ///r.
V
5^7. -r 35
THE
ISLAND OP CUBA :
ITS RESOURCES, PROGRESS, AND
PROSPECTS,
OONSISSBED IN BXLiLTION BBPSCIALLY TO THE INTLUENCS
or ITS PBOSPEBITT ON THE INTSBEST8 QU THE
BRITISH WEST INDIA COLONIES.
. BT
R. R. MADDEN, M.R.LA.
" I thought it my duty to expoae the monstroni impiety and cruelty, not only
of the slave-trade, but of slavery itself, in whatever form it is foond; and
likewise to assert that no authority on earth can ever rtiiijj;
iniquities legal."— G. Shasp.
LONDON:
CHARLES GILPIN, 5, BISHOPSGATE WITHOUT.
DUBLIN : JAMBS B. OILPIN, 69, DAUE-STREBT.
1849.
LONDOH :
J. UMWIM, ORKSHAX 8TIAX PE£S3,
BUCUJCB8BUET.
DEDICATION.
TO THE RIGHT HON. SIR JAMES STEPHEN.
To one officially connected with colonial affairs for up-
wards of a quarter of a century ; who brought to bear on
ihem a vast experience, united with consummate ability and
strong sense of the obligations of imperial power towards
the interests of humanity and justice^ combined with an
indefatigable zeal in the discharge of public duties of the
most arduous description ; who, so far as it was practicable,
in a position environed with many tranmiels and restraints,
followed in the footsteps of his illustrious kinsman, William
Wilberforce, on many memorable occasions ; to one, I may
add, who, amidst the toil and turmoil of the business of a
great colonial empire, found leisure to devote to literary
pursuits of the highest order, and to the illustration of the
great truths and principles of that Divine philosophy which
teaches men of all creeds to be charitable, just, tolerant,
and forbearing to pne another,
I INSCRIBE THIS VOLUME.
R. R. MADDEN.
INTRODUCTION.
Memoranda made in Cuba in the years 1836-
7-8-9, respecting slavery and the slave-trade, the
state of society, commerce, religion, and education
in that island, when the author filled the office of
Superintendent of liberated Africans, and for a
large portion of that period, the appointment of
Acting Commissioner of Arbitration in the Mixed
Court of Justice at the Havana, furnish chiefly
the matter of this volume. That which is con-
tained in the Appendix comprises all the statis-
tical information of a late period, from official
documents and other authentic sources, that has
reference to the changes our West India Islands
have undergone since the abolition of slavery;
returns, also, showing the comparative state of
agriculture and commerce, prior and subsequent
to emancipation ; the exports from other colonies
where slavery exists, of late years, and especially
from Cuba.
All information in regard to that colony, the
bearing on our West India possessions of its pros-
perity, and in respect to the progress, efficiency, •
and extent of our effi)rts for the abolition of the
slave-trade, that is calculated to throw a light on
VI INTRODUCTION.
" the West India question," will be found in this
volume. The desire of the author is to state
facts, and to leave his readers to form their own
opinions with respect to them, and to place before
the public the results of his own experience in
the British West Indies, in Cuba, and on the
western coast of Africa, in various official situ-
ations — and in the United States, in a private
capacity ; an experience extended over a period
of eight years, with the view, solely, of enabling
others, more competent than he feels himself to
be, to devise plans, or procure measures to be
adopted, for remedying evils of great magnitude
now impending over our colonies.
The present state of those islands makes the
subject of the slave-trade and slavery, in the
Spanish colonies and the Brazils, one of deep
interest for us, and one that must very soon en-
gage the attention of statesmen in this country.
If the present state of things in our colonies
should endure for two years longer, without any
effective efforts to ameliorate their condition, the
cultivation of sugar must be totally abandoned in
them.
To prevent this result, we must look to one of
the three following occurrences —
1st. The re-imposition of the old differential
duties on foreign sugars.
2nd. Our West India colonies being placed in
a condition, both as respects capital and labour,
to compete with the slaveholding and slave-
trading colonies of Spain and the Brazils in the
sugar markets of Europe.
INTRODUCTION. Vll
3rd. The extinction of the slave-trade in the
Spanish colonies and the Brazils.
All schemes for the object in question that
have not those ends in view are illusory.
In regard to the first proposition, the obvious
impracticability of any attempt to re-impose the
old sugar duties leaves little to be said.
Whether the West India proprietors were
fairly dealt with or not, in altering those duties
at a period when the experiment of free labour
in our colonies had not had sufficient time
afforded to solve the question of its advantages or
disadvantages,, is not now the question.
The real question is, the practicability or im-
practicability of re-imposing those duties.
The probability is, that free-trade principles
have been pushed to an extreme extent by the
advocates of that system. But the circumstances
of the nation would have led to the downfall of
the old system of restriction on trade, and mono-
polies for the benefit of peculiar interests, if Mr.
Cobden or Sir Robert Peel had never existed.
It so happens that the advantage of the altera-
tion in the sugar duties has been brought home
more closely to the pocket intelligence of the
people of England than the benefits arising from.
the alteration in the laws, affecting the price of
corn.
The advantage of cheap sugar in England has
now been made too generally known to admit of
a return to the old system of protection. The
country would not stand a repeal of the sugar
law, nor of the corn law. Both were necessary
VIU INTBODUCTION.
consequences of Sir Robert Peel's first change
in the tariff. There was a time when a sancti-
monious pretence might have passed off in Par-
liament for a great moral purpose, but that time
is gone by. If we find no immorality in wear-
ing slave-grown cotton and eating slave-grown
rice, none will be found in using slave-grown
sugar.
We must, then, look to some other means of
removing the evils under which our West India
colonies are now labouring.
The second proposition, that has reference to
the condition of our colonies as influenced by the
prosperity of slave-producing countries, is deserv-
ing of very serious attention. It is the habit of
the West India body to say, that the great evil
under which our colonies suffer is the want of
labour. That, however, is not the fact. The
want of capital is no less suffered from than the
want of labour.
In Cuba and the Brazils there is no want of
either, consequently our colonies are wholly
unable to compete with them in the production of
sugar.
Had the compensation money gone into the
pockets of the proprietors in our colonies, things
would have been in a very different state to what
they now are there. But the twenty millions, of
1834, passed into the hands of the West India
merchants, the mortgagees of two thirds of all the
large estates in our colonies : into the hands of
n^ercantile men, who were not exclusively engaged
in West India affairs, but who had East India
INTRODUCTION. IX
interests, Chinese interests, general mercantile
interests, brokerage concerns, and money-market
matters for the employment of their capital, as
well as in West India investments, and who,
moreover, had been engaged for a great many
years in advancing money to a ruined proprietary,
who were never again likely to be restored to s
prosperous condition. Consequently, none of the
compensation money was devoted to the acquisi-
tion of free labour, or the substitution of ma-
chinery for the great loss of manual labour,
which the emancipation led to—the loss of female
labour, and of that of children, arising from the
employment of the women in domestic employ-
ments, and the sending of children to school,
which took place to so large an extent after
compulsory labour was abolished.
The good, then, that ought to have been
derived from the compensation money was not
obtained by our colonies, and want of capital,
immediately after emancipation, began to be
severely felt. In fact, the colonists felt it fiir
more than they did before emancipation, for the
merchants at home, when once the compensation
money came into their hands, felt less disposed
than ever to make advances, and in a great many
instances obliged the impoverished, embarrassed
colonists to look for other merchants to take
charge of their estates.
In the meantime, Cuba and the Brazils pro-
fited by those unfortunate circumstances of our
planters. They imported more slaves from Africa,
the Americans poured capital largely into the
A3
X INTRODUCTION.
former island, and brought a vast number of new
estates into cultivation in that colony.
It is a folly to suppose that our West India
colonies have been robbed of their prosperity by
Government measures of a recent date, or even a
remote one. The difficulties of them are of older
dates than the years 1847, 1834, or 1807.
In a report of the committee of the House of
Assembly of Jamaica, dated the 23rd November,
1792, on the sugar trade of that colony, we find
this passage : — " In the course of twenty years,
177 estates in Jamaica have been sold for the
payment of debts, fifty-five estates have been
thrown up, and ninety-nine are still in the hands
of creditors."
The report refers to a return made by the Pro-
vost Marshal, wherein it is stated that " 80,121
executions, amounting* to £22,563,786 sterling,
had been lodged in his office in the course of
twenty years."
In 1804, the House of Assembly issued another
report, wherein it is stated, "that the West India
merchants of England, holding securities on real
estate in the colony, were generally foreclosing
mortgages, filing bills in chancery, refusing to ad-
vance money to the planters, or giving the smallest
accommodation to them — without judgments in
ejectment, and release of errors, in order at a
moment's notice to take out writs of possession,
and enter on the plantations of the unfortunate
proprietors." . . . "All kind of credit is at an
end." ... "A faithful detail (of their distress) would
have the appearance of a fnghtful caricature."
IKI^RODUCTION. XI
In 1807 (before the slave-trade abolition mea-
sure came into operation), the House of Assembly
of Jamaica made another report^ wherein it was
stated, that ''within the last five or six years
sixty-five estates had been abandoned, thirty-two
sold under decrees of chancery, and 115 more
respecting which suits in chancery were depend-
ing, and ndany more bills preparing." "The sugar
estates lately brought to sale, and now in the
Court of Chancery in this island and in England,
amount to about one-fourth of the whole number
in the colony."
In 1812, the case of the planters of Jamaica
was recommended in a memorial to the King, in
which it was stated, that " the ruin of the original
possessors has been completed. Estate after estate
has passed into the hands of mortgagees and credi-
tors absent from the island, until there are large
districts^ whole parishes, in which there is not a
single proprietor of a sugar plantation resident.
The distress,' it is added, " cannot well be aggra-
vated*' Now it must not be supposed that the
forearoing statements were applicable to Jamaica
alone ; for we have the testimony of Mr. Marryat^
a gentleman deeply interested in West India pro-
perty, given in his place in the House of Commons,
in 1813, that " there were comparatively few estates
in the West Indies that had not, during the preced-
ing twenty years, been sold or given up to creditors,'*
One quotation more will bring the history of the
West India distress up to the year 1832. In the
address of the West India body to the British
nation, signed by the most eminent of its members
XU INTRODUCTION.
resident in Great Britain, they say, " the aUtrndng
and unprecedented distress in which the whole British
West India interest is involved,'* justified them in
imploring Parliament '* to adopt prompt and ef-
fectual measures of relief, in order to preserve them
from inevitable ruin.'' Viscount Goderich, then
colonial secretary, in commenting on this sub-
ject, in a despatch, dated 6th November, 1831,
observes, "The existence of severe commercial
distress amongst all classes of society connected
with the West Indies is unhappily too evident ;"
and with great truth and justice his lordship said,
" without denying the concurrence of many causes,
it is obvious that the great and permanent source
of distress, which almost every page of the West
Indies records, is to be found in the institution
OF SLAVERY. It is in vain to hope for long-con-
tinued prosperity in any country, in which the
people are not dependent on their own volun-
tary labour for support — in which labour is not
prompted by legitimate motives, and does not earn
its natural reward." And again, " / cannot but
regard the system itself as the perennial spring of
those distresses, oftQhich, not only at present merely,
but during the whole of the last fifty years, the com-
plaints have been so frequent and so just.'*
From the period of our abolition of the slave-
trade, in 1807, to the year preceding the passing
of the Emancipation Act, in 1833, the complaints
of distress in the West India colonies were unre-
mitting. But they varied nothing in their cha-
racter from those we have referred to, from 1792
to 1807.
INTRODUCTION. XIU
The insurrection in Jamaica, that preceded the
Emancipation Act of 1833, brought the colony
to the utmost distress it had yet reached. To it
a very large portion of the injury to West India
interests attributed to emancipation is really due.
The greatest mischief to them which arose from
that measure was the high rate of wages that
prevailed at the beginning of the new system in
all the colonies, and the want of capital to meet
that charge for labour. At one time, half-a-crown,
three shillings, and even more, for job work, was
paid for a day's work.
In Jamaica, wages now range from Is. to Is. 6d.
per diem; in British Guiana, from Is. 4d. to
Is. lOd. per diem; and in Trinidad, from Is. 3d.
to ls.8d. per diem, for able-bodied, good labourers.
When work is done by the job, labourers earn
much more. The rate of wages is, however,
rather decreasing than rising, throughout the
colonies. But there can be no question that, at
the present price of sugar, the payment of such
wages leaves production without remuneration.
That such wages enable the negroes to save
money and invest it in land is obvious, from the
fact that the number of freeholds purchased by
them in Jamaica is nearly 20,000, and in British
Guiana nearly 5,000, and in our other colonies in
proportion. But the amelioration of the con-
dition of the negroes of these colonies is best
proved by the large increase in the export trade
to the British West Indies and Guiana. We
find the total declared value to have been, during
the six years ending with 1833, £15,108,876,
XIV INTRODUCTION.
whilst during the six years ending in 1844, the
amount was £17,990,823. And it must be borne
in mind, the exports from the United States to
our West India colonies had likewise very largely
increased.
But the exports from our colonies have not
increased — far from it — they have fallen oflF con-
siderably. How could it be otherwise? Lord
Stanley stated that, immediately previous to
emancipation — " In all the islands there had been
a general increase in the production of sugar,
and a corresponding decrease in the amount of
the labouring population." In Jamaica, he stated,
the medium population, during three years end-
ing June, 1832, was 327,464, and the average
amount of sugar raised, 1,410,026 cwt., yet the
slave population had fallen off, from 1826, to the
amount of 6,929, and the production of sugar
had increased, since the same term, 55,538 cwts.
All evils are referred to 1833, the year of the
enactment of the great measure of emancipation ;
hut, again and again it ought to be repeated that, if
the twenty millions of compensation money had
been applied to the wants and necessities of the
British West Indies in 1834, — the substitution of
machinery as much as possible for manual labour,
—the introduction of improved modes of cultiva-
tion and production, — much would have been done
towards enabling those colonies to meet the com-
petition of slave-labour in Cuba and the Brazils.
In Cuba, when the equipment clause of the
new treaty of 1835 alarmed the slaveholders of
that island for the continuance of the introduc-
INTBODUCTION. XT
% tion of Bozal negroes, a great stimulus was given
to legitimate industry: steam-engines were set
up, on a great number of estates, and various im-
provements that shortened or lightened labour
were had recourse to; — Cuba had capital, and
the energies that belong to prosperity, to do this.
But the case was diflFerent with Jamaica. The
twenty millions allotted to the slave-owners went
into the pockets of the merchants in London and
Liverpool, who were the virtual proprietors of the
estates, and the colonies derived no benefit from it.
The possible occurrence I h^ve referred to, of
our West India colonies being placed, with
respect to capital, as well as to labour, in a con^
dition to compete with the slaveholding and
slave-trading colonies of Spain and the Brazils,
requires to be considered with much attention
and freedom from pre-conceived opinions. I
have approached this question with a strong
desire to divest my mind of all previous notions
I have formed or may have expressed on it, and
to look on the present position of our W^t
Indian affairs as a new ^* situation," demanding
new measures and modes of action, to meet a
very grave emergency. The views I now set
forth are the result of a comprehensive considera-
tion of this subject. My experience in Jamaica,
the year preceding emancipation, — in Cuba, irom
1836 to 1840, — and likewise my acquaintance
with matters connected with the slave-trade on.
the western coast of Afiica, in 1841 — are, however,
the main foundation on which any conclusion I
come to must rest.
XVI INTRODUCTION.
The West Indians, then, assert that the great
want of labour is the grand evil under which our
colonies exist. This is the chief difficulty, and the
Government is given to understand this evil is to
be removed by large immigrations of free negroes,
coolies, or Chinese, and some say of white people,
into our colonies.
My belief is, I repeat, that want of capital, ever
since emancipation, constitutes, at least, one half
of the evil in question.
Let us suppose Jamaica to represent our eman-
cipated West In(}ia colonies, and Cuba all the
countries from which sugar produced by slave-
labour is exported. It would not be sufficient, to
restore the prosperity of the former, to equalise
the number of labourers now annually introduced
into both islands. Cuba has not undergone the
ordeal of emancipation. That tremendous change
has not shaken the foundations of her agricul-
ture, commerce, and credit, or temporarily affected
their stability. There are a vast number of
affluent mortgagee proprietors in Cuba ; there is
a great afflux of American capitalists into Cuba ;
there is a very large commerce there with the
United States, as well as with the mother country.
In these respects there is no parity between Cuba
and Jamaica, though it is quite true that in the
former colony there are great fears entertained for
the maintenance of slavery, and great cause for
apprehension, for another insurrection like the last,
even though unsuccessful^ would involve the colony
in inextricable embarrassment. The actual mer-
cantile proprietors of Cuba, the mortgagees living
INTRODUCTION. XVU
in the Havana, Principe, and St. Jago, are not
absentees, however, nor long engaged with the
ruinous interests of ill-managed estates, nor
deeply involved in other great commercial specu-
lations. They are men well to do in the world,
grasping, unprincipled men, possessed of capital,
beyond the reach of small commercial panics, or
agricultural crises. It is, therefore, idle to attri-
bute the evils which our West India colonies
labour under, to acts of government. It would
be no less idle to imagine that all those evils are
to be removed by the introduction of free men
from Africa into those colonies.
Much good, doubtless, may be accomplished
by augmenting the number of free labourers
there, and I think it possible to increase the
number to an extent that would enable our
colonies to hold on^ till such time as the introduc-
tion of slaves into Cuba and the Brazils was put
a final stop to.
It is needless to observe; I do not calculate on
a very prolonged existence of the Cuban and
Brazilian slave-trade, independently of any efforts
made for its abolition by means of Mixed Com-
mission Courts, cruising squadrons* and all the
machinery of treaties with foreign powers for this
object, — treaties which have hitherto proved most
costly to this country, and calculated, perhaps
in defiance of all efforts— even the untiring, most
able, honest, and energetic efforts of the present
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs — to prolong
the very evil they were intended to abolish or
abate.
XVm INTRODUCTION.
Their eflFect has been only to regulate, by
means of partial restraint, the importations of
slaves into Cuba and the Brazils, which would
otherwise have been excessive for a few years, and
then must have proved fatal to slavery, a mortal
cause of fear, and occasion of imminent peril to
the security of the property in slaves. This fear
and peril never becomes a permanent state of
being, or one frequently recurring in slave-
holding countries, without a fatal influence on the
interests of slavery.
I believe that slavery cannot exist, however,
under any circumstances, many years in Cuba
and the Brazils ; and such is the nature of slavery
in both, such the utter want of religious instruc-
tion, of habits of civilisation, of social improve-
ment of every kind, of connexion by intermediate
agents, such as teachers, preachers, or magis-
trates (appointed by the Crown), between slaves
and masters, that in the event of the abolition of the
slave-trade, any partial attempt at ameliorating
slavery would prove fruitless, and then the inevi-
table final measure of total abolition of slavery
would be of a very difierent kind from that of
ours. It would be utterly vain to expect the
settling down of that population of slaves, with
all their African instincts, feelings, and passions
fresh in them, and still racy of the soil from
which they have been taken within a few years,
into habits of order and industry, at all resem-
bling those of the negroes of our West India
colonies immediately previous to emancipation.
The abolition of slaverv in Cuba and the
INTRODUCTION. XIX
Brazils would be looked upon by the negroes as
a proof of the superiority of their power over that
of their late masters. The motive for any modi-
fication of it would be confounded in their ideas
with a conviction of an inability to prevent the
abolition of slavery, and there would be no agency
found in those colonies, no intermediate influence,
like that of the missionaries of our islands prior
to 1834, acting between slaves and owners, calcu-
lated to make a system of modified slavery work
with any elements of endurance in it.
I repeat, that it is for such contingencies as the
abolition of the slave-trade and of slavery in Cuba
and the Brazils, we have to endeavour to place
our colonies in a state fit to take advantage of
these events — less distant, perhaps, than any
persons, except individuals acquainted with those
countries, may imagine. I see no means of.
putting our West Indian colonies in a state of
ability to compete with them ; of preventing a vast
number of the best estates in the island of Jamaica
being thrown up, even within the next year ; and
of enabling the proprietors to hold on, for the
short term of years I have referred to, or a period
that would be determined by the first irar, Euro^
pean or American^ but the introduction into those
colonies of free labour on an extensive scale.
With respect to the views of Mr. Joseph Hume,
there is nothing very new in them ; old pleas, of
good intentions towards the people of Africa ;
old pretexts for man robbing; old plans for
peopling plantations under colour of zeal for the
promotion of the interests of civilisation and re-
XX iirrRODucnoN.
ligion ; the old spirit of fraud and cupidity em-
bodied in another form of hypocrisy . Mr. Joseph
Home would hare the legislature rescind the law
against the slave-trade. He would have our
West India merchants send ships to Africa to
purchase cargoes of slaves (who must necessarily
be kidnapped, captured, carried away from their
own homes and kindred, to furnish the man-mar-
kets on the coast for Mr. Joseph- Hume's agents),
to convey them to our colonies, and there convert
them into frbe labourers, who could not, how-
ever, possibly escape from those colonies and get
back to their own land for a great many years at
least. There, Mr. Joseph Hume would have
them called '*free labourers;" so that their
•* removal " from Africa would be entirely " for
their benefit and advantage." What powers of
face must this economist of other men's labour
— this benevolent Trinidad proprietors-member
of parliament — possess !
There is, indeed, nothing new in his plea for
devastating the African continent, for devoting
that unhappy country anew to the ravages of
war, and its people to the plundering Sazias and
slave-hunts of the robbers and marauders, who
sell their surviving victims on the coast to the
European " ransomers, " whom Mr. Joseph
Hume, in the innocency of his nature, will have
the dealers and chapmen in the flesh and blood
of the stolen negrpes — the agents on the coast
for this traffic — considered.
It was " for the interests of religion " and the
** benefit of the negro race " that Africa has been
INTRODUCTION. XXI
ravaged for 300 years. Religion and humanity,
however, have not been much advanced by the
ransomings which have taken place there. But,
granting that those ransomings are to be of a
bond fide character, what does it matter to Africa
that they are so? The negroes that are stolen
for us, and sold to us, are to be free in the West
India colonies, — the condition of these persons is
to be bettered in spite of them, and those colo-
nies to be improved by means of them. But
what does all this signify to Africa ? She is still
to be desolated, in order that our colonies may
again prosper. The war of thirty odd years
with the giant crime of the slave-trade, and its
hard-won victory, are to go for nothing, — the
labours of Clarkson and Wilberforce are as dirt
in the sight of Mr. Joseph Hume. All the inte-
rests of humanity put together are as a feather in
the scale, in the opinion of that enlightened, poli-
tical economist, compared with those of the free-
trade principle applied to the commerce in the
flesh and blood of his own species. Mr. Joseph
Hume would buy that human commodity, called
labour, in the cheapest market, as he would pur-
chase bread stuffs, or any other merchandise, and
dispose of it, to the best advantage, in those colo-
nies in whose prosperity he is more or less inte-
rested, for the benefit, of course, of the labouring
machines with two hands that he would have the
Government sanction the forcible carrying away
of from Africa.
Perhaps I have said too much on this subject ;
but, taking into account the very extravagant
XXll INTRODUCTION.
length to which free-trade doctrines are now
occasionally pashed, and the violation of all
notions of morality, which becomes familiar to
one's ears when the interests of free-trade are
thus illegitimately advocated, — considering how
little importance is attached to human rights by
those who hold such extreme opinions, — and how
much, unfortunately, such extreme opinions begin
to prevail, — the few remarks I have made, on
this mischievous project of Mr. Joseph Hume,
may not be altogether needless.
I think the evils of our West India colonies
are to be met without re-opening the slave-trade,
or declaring war against Spain or the Brazils for
their breach of treaties with us.
We may, by a well-conducted system of emi-
gration, obtain a sufficient number of free la-
bourers from the Kjtoo Coast, the Canaries, Ma-
deira, and the Azores, to enable our West India
proprietors to carry on sugar cultivation for a
few years longer, while slavery and the slave-
trade do exist in Cuba and the Brazils.
We have a right to call on Spain and the
Brazils for a bond fide' execution of their treaties;
to consider the existence of slavery in Cuba and
the Brazils as an undeniable consequence of a
flagrant violation of solemn engagements with us ;
to look upon the present means of effecting our
legitimate anti-slave-trade objects as insufficient
for their ends ; to make our claims a question of
compensation for the vast expenditure we have
been put to, on the faith of engagements that
have been broken.
INTRODUCTION. XXUl
We have, moreover, a right to make our
urgent claims troublesome, not only to the
Spanish Government, but, through our agents in
Cuba, continually perplexing and harassing to
the Spanish authorities in Cuba; and« in respect
to the Brazils, to pursue the same course in the
slave-trading provinces of that empire.
But while we do this, it would be better for
our interests and the character of our efforts
against the slave-trade — ^which ought not only to
be unsuspected, but above suspicion— to claim
nothing in the way of a prohibition to aid and
to abet the slave-trade from foreign powers,
which British subjects likewise are not prevented
from accomplishing.
So long as we seize the ships of Spain, Por-
tugal, and the Brazils, under the equipment
clause of the treaties entered into since 1835, —
when we find a few shackles, planks, or boilers
in them, or other articles calculated for the pro-
secution of the slave-trade, — and that we ship tons
of those identical articles for slave-trading pur-
poses, and other manufactures for those purposes
alone, for the western coast of Africa, Cuba, and
the Brazils, and sell them there to slave-traders
well known to be engaged in that commerce
only, — our efforts will be made under great dis-
advantage and with very indifferent success.
Mr. McClean, of Cape Coast Castle, is cit^d
by SirT. F. Buxton for the fact, "that one third
of the slaves (carried away from the western
coast of Africa) were paid for, by the dealers, in
cotton goods, which, to the value of £260,000
XXIV INTRODUCTION.
yearly, are manufactured in Lancashire and
shipped to the Brazils, Cuba, the United States,
and elsewhere, intended for the slave-trade, and
adapted only for that purpose." But omission is
wholly made of the vast exports from Liverpool,
London, and Bristol, of gunpowder, muskets,
cutlasses, shackles, and spirits, that are sold at the
slave-trading factories of Whydah, !Bissaos, the
Gallinas, and the Rio Pongos, exclusively for
the commerce that is carried on in those places in
slaves.
In conclusion, I trust the reader will find in
the following pages ample data for the consi-
deration of the question — the influence of the
prosperity of slave-producing countries on the
interests of our West India colonies, and for a
due appreciation of the resources, progress, and
prospects of the, great stronghold of slavery and
the slave-trade — the island of Cuba.
July, 1849.
THE ISLAND OF CUBA,
CHAPTER I.
POPULATION OF CUBA.
The origin of the Castilian race in the West
Indies was bad, and the state of colonisation in
them is not better now than it was in the times
when they were described by Cervantes as *' the
refuge of the profligates of Spain — sanctuaries
for homicides — skulking places for gamblers and
sharpers — receptacles of women of free manners —
places of delusion to many — of amelioration to
few." "Fueron refugio de los desesparados de
Espana; iglesia de los alzados : salvo conducto de
les homicidos. Pala y cubierta de los jugadores
aquienes llaman ciertos los peritos en el arte ama*
gaza general de los niugeres libres : engano com-
mune de muchos, y remedio particular de pocos."*
Don Antonio Ulloa, in an official communication
to Ferdinand the Sixth, speaks of the Europeans, or
Chapetones, who came to those colonies, as being
for the most part of a low origin in Spain, of an
obscure station, without education or other merit
of any kind to make them respected: "Sin
* Cervantes, Ardid. 4. p.
2 POPULATION OF CUBA.
educacion ni otro merito alguno que Ids hagan muy
recommendables."*
In a remarkable treatise (in manuscript) entitled
"La Isla de Cuba, tal cual esta en 1836," the
author (Senhor Delmonte) observes, " What have
the Spanish inhabitants of Cuba gained by the
augmentation of population ' there ? It has not
been produced naturally, nor by immigration, or
the introduction of foreigners from Europe, but by
the clandestine importation of thousands of slaves
from the coast of Africa. There is now in Cuba
a million of souls, and of these it is calculated
600,000 are men of colour and men in slavery."
The population of Cuba in 1827, amounting to
730,882, compared with that of 1775, namely, of
170,370 souls, shows an increase which (if it were
natural) would be unparalleled in any age or
country. This increase, however, only shows the
extent to which the importation of Africans was
carried on.
The population of Cuba, by the census of 1776,
(Padron official) was 170,370 (Consul Tolme's
statement to Lord Palmerston, 171,620):— whites,
96,440; free-coloured, 30,847; slaves, 44,333.
In 1792, on the same authority, the population
had increased to 272,301 -.—whites, 133,659; free-
coloured, 64,152; slaves, 84,590.
In 1817, on the same authority, the popula-
tion was 583,033 :— whites, 239,830 ; free-coloured,
144,068 ; slaves, 199,146. Of the slave population
124,324 were males, and 74,821 females. (See
Parliamentary Reports.)
* D. Antonio UUoa, Cart. p. 420.
POPULATION OF CUBA. 6
In 1827, by the census, so called in the annual
statistical account of the trade and finances of the
Cuban government, the population was 730,882: —
whites, 311,051; free-coloured, 106,494; slaves,
286,942; 26,395 troops and strangers. Of the
slaves 183,290 were males, 103,652 females.
In 1832, Mr. Tolme estimates the whole popu-
lation at 870,000:— whites, 400,000; free-coloured,
110,000; slaves 360,000.
In 1839, the best informed people (of Cuba) esti-
mated the population of the island at 1,000,000,
including 600,000 whites; 30,000 troops and
foreigners; 330,000 slaves; 140,000 free people of
colour. Mr. Tolme, in his report on the commerce,
agriculture, &c., of Cuba, for the year 1837, to Lord
Palmerston, states that the amount of female
slaves to males is in the ratio of 60 to 100.
This is a mis-statement, however. The dispro-
portion of the sexes is far greater. Two cargoes
of slaves liberated by the Mixed Commission,
and placed under my charge, the Empresa in
1836, and the Matilda in 1837, were thus com-
posed: —
Empresa Males, 337. . Females, 47.
Matilda Males, 175. . Females, 100.
The total of which is 512 males, and 147 females;
the proportion of females to males being nearly as
three to one. In most other cases it was more.
Mr. Trist, the American Consul (an apologist for
slavery), states, that the female slaves form about
twenty per cent, of the whole slave population.
The result of all my inquiries on this subject is,
b2
4 POPULATION OF CUBA.
that the proportion of male slaves to females, in
Cuba, is as 4j to 1.
The state of things at present in Cuba, both as
respects the inequality of the sexes, and the num-
ber of newly imported slaves, is worse than it was
in St. Domingo before the revolution, and infi-
nitely worse than in the British West Indian
colonies before emancipation.
A comparative view of the population in St.
Domingo before the revolution, and in Cuba in
1838, by Senhor Saco, is deserving of attention.
In St. Domingo, before the revolution, the white
(French) population was under 30,000. This was
the greatest amount it had reached.
In Cuba, in 1827, it reached 311,051.
In St. Domingo, at the period referred to, the
slaves of the French were estimated at 5^000 ;
so that there were eighteen slaves to one white
man, to say nothing of free-coloured people. The
slave popiQation was not one newly introduced, nor
chiefly introduced within a period of twenty years.
In Cuba, in 1827, the slaves were 286,942; the
whites were 311,051; so that there were nearly
five whites to four slaves. While in Jamaica, at
the time of emancipation, the whites did not form
a thirtieth part of the slave population.*
In 1807, the slaves were estimated at 319,351 ;
and in 1829, by the last census, they amounted to
322,421.
The total amount of negroes introduced into
Jamaica is estimated at one million. When the
British slave-trade was abolished, the entire popu-
* The Slave Population in Jamaica.
ORIGIN OF NEGRO SLAVERY. O
lation of slaves and free people of colour in Jamaica
amounted only to 350,000. So far, Cuba is appa-
rently better circumstanced than St. Domingo, or
Jamaica, but in all other respects worse. In 1791,
the Convention abolished slavery in St. Domingo.
In all the Spanish revolutions no similar decree
was issued ; therefore, Saco thinks, or rather he
states that he thinks, there is no cause for appre-
hension from the blacks in Cuba. Yet, with sin-
gular inconsistency, he proceeds to tell his readers
that the population of Cuba having been, in 1775,
170,370—and, in 1827, 704,487,*— it followed that
the population had quadrupled in fifty-two years.
"But when it is considered," he adds, "that Cuba
received in these fifty-two years more than 450,000
African slaves, if this number be compared with
the total population of 1827, namely 704,562, the
indigenous population will appear most lamentably
reduced," and the barbarous population, he might
have added, most fearfully increased.
THE ORIGIN OF NEGRO SLAVERY IMPUTED
TO LAS CASAS.
The Christian philanthropist of heroic bene-
volence, " TAe Protector of the Indians^" "cuijo
nombre merece ser eterno y non cubrirse con ob-
scuro velo,"t lias been more heavily taxed by
calumny for the eminence of his fame, as a great
Christian warrior in the cause of humanity, than
any defender of its rights who ever battled with
slavery. This in itself is a signal proof of the
virtue and valour of the man, of the vast labours
I' Exclusive of troops and strangers, f Jean de Castellanos.
6 THE ORIGIN OF
of his life, and the powerful influence of those
interests which were hurt by his magnanimous
eflPorts in favour of the oppressed. Still, it is
humiliating and heart-sickening to reflect how
powerful the malignity of the champions of
injustice has been in his case, and how general
and long enduring has been the ignorance that
has prevailed with respect to all the facts, allega-
tions, and specific grounds for suspicion, on which
the original calumny rests — namely, that " the
trade in African slaves originated in a suggestion
of Las Casas."
It is not necessary to enter into any lengthened
historical details of the enslavement and extermi-
nation of the Indians, the mission of the Apostle
of the Indies, the origin and establishment of the
system of negro slavery in the New World, in
order to vindicate the memory of Las Casas from
this calumny.
Little more is necessary to do, for this object,
than to cite the original charge, the source of
all the subsequent misrepresentation, gathering
increased bulk and baseness as it travelled into
other climes and ages ; and to quote the dates of
the occurrences which are connected with this
alleged misdeed, or the anterior or posterior to
it still remotely bearing on the question of the
truth or falsehood of it.
Las Casas was born in the year 1474.*
He was ordained a secular priest in 151 0.f
He accompanied his father to Cuba, and settled
* Quintana. Vide Espanolas Celebes, tome 3, p. 304.
t Idem.
NEGRO SLAVERY. 7
at a place called Trinidad, having many Indians
in servitude under him, " which he never ceased
to regret," in 1514.*
His first departure from the West Indies, on
his return from San Domingo to Spain, was to
carry a complaint to his sovereign against the
oppressors of the Indians, in ISlS.f
His arrival in Spain was in 1516.
The title of Protector of the Indians was con-
ferred on him in 1616.
He returned to San Domingo in 1616.
He departed the second time for Spain in 1516;
his object was to complain of the commissioners^:
sent to the colony.
On his arrival in Spain, he sent in a memorial
in favour of the Indians to the new sovereign,
and in that memorial he is charged with recom-
mending '* la saca de negros," the taking of
negroes and transport of them to the West Indies,
with the view of alleviating the labours of the
Indians — " para que con ellos en las grangeras y en
las minas, fuesen las Indias mas aliviados," &c.§
* Remesal, liv. 2, ch. 10.
"f* Quintana.
X It is to be borne in mind, that these fathers of St. Jerome
were the commissioners sent but along with Las Casas to devise
means to protect the natives ; against whose conduct Las Casas
so vehemently protested , and for whose conduct Robertson, with
his usual generosity towards the side of oppression, so vigorously
stands forth.
§ " El licenciado B. de las Casas viendo que sus concelhos, hal-
landose en todas partes difficultodes, &c., se volvio a otros expe*
dientes procurando que a los Castellanos que vivian en las Indias,
se diese saca de negros, para que conellos en las grangeras y. en
las minas fuesen los Indias mas aliviados, y que se procurarse de
levantar buen numero de lavradores que passassen a ellas con
ciertos libertades y condiciones que fuesen."— JHw^ de lot Jndiat
Occidentales de Herrera, liv. 2, tom. 2, ch. 20.
8 THB ORIGIN OF
This was in 1516. He proposed to found a
colony on the Main, on the coast of Paria, com^
posed of Spanish husbandmen and ecclesiastics,
and to civilise 1 0,000 natives in two years^ making
them labour voluntarily for subsistence, and
teaching them the rudiments of social life ; stipu->
lating that no sailor or soldier should ever be
permitted to settle in the colony, and no Spaniard
to enter it without his permission* This was in
the year 1517.
In his contract with the Government for his
Cumana expedition, he stipulates for the privilege,
for himself and his companions, of three African
negroes each, half the number males, half females.
He is charged with having previously pre-
sented a memorial to the Council, wherein he
states, " The remedy for the Christians is certainly
this, that your Majesty should be pleased to
grant to each of the islands 500 or 600 negroes,
to be placed in the hands of fit persons for dis-
tribution among the planters who have now only
Indians ;" and in the same document of com-
plainingf of the grandees throwing difficulties in
the way of the introduction of negro slaves. J
* Historia de las Indias Occidentales de Herrera, liv. 2,
tome 2, ch. 20.
t The valuable unedited papers called ** Extractos de Munos en
]a CoUeccion de Senor Iguina/' Ap. Quintaua. — ^Vid. Celeb.
Espan.
f *' El remedio de los Christianos es este, muy cierto que tenga
por bien aprestar a cada una de estas Islas, 500 o 600 negros a los
que pareciere que el presente bastaren para que se distribuyen por
]08 vecinos, que hoy no tienen otra cosa sino Indios.'^ And
further on :— " No conceden libremente a todos cuantos queran
traerlaslicencias delos negro, lo cual yo pedire alcance de S. M.'^
r— CoUeccion de T- Iguina.
Robertson's Hist, of the Indies. Book Third.
NEGRO SLAVERY. 9
His plan for establishing a colony on the Main
was sanctioned by the Emperor, but the terri-
tory limited seaward to about 300 miles on the
coast of Cumana ; and accompanied by about
200 husbandmen he set out for Cumana, and
after various misfortunes he arrived there in the
summer of 1617.
He found the coast had been previously
ravaged by his countrymen ; the colony did not
succeed. Las Casas returned for assistance to
San Domingo, in 1517. His colony, in the mean-
time, being expelled from Cumana, settled for
some time at the island of Cubagua, then aban-
doned it ; and Las Casas, grieved and cast down
at the failure of his great project, took refuge
from the taunts of his countrymen, and his own
feelings of disappointment, in the Dominican
Convent in San Domingo, where he assumed the
habit of that order in 1518.
From the preceding data, in the first place, we
find that Las Casas' arrival in the West Indies
was many years after their discovery. Columbus
died the 28th of May, 1506.
The memorable day of his landing at the
island of Lucayos, which he named San Salvador,
was the 12th of October, 1492; Robertson, our
great historian, states that Las Casas went
out with Columbus. " This was Bartholomew
Las Casas, a native of Seville, and one of the
clergymen sent out with Columbus in his second
voyage to Hispaniola, in order to settle in that
island.*
* Kobertson's History of Scotland. Book Third.
B 3
10 THE ORIGIN OF
Las Casas, however, did not go out till 1510 ;
and it was only in that year he was ordained.
Moreover, the second voyage of Columbus to the
New World was in 1493 ;
The third was in 1498 ;
The fourth and last in 1502.
Columbus died in 1506.
Las Casas died as he had lived, a reviled,
slandered man, with a world of enemies in arms
against his heroic virtues. He was a madman,
an enthusiast, an exciter to sedition. "Amoti-
nabo le gente,** says Herrera. With Robertson
he was a man of " rashness and imprudence ; he
had the inconsistency natural to men with head-
long impetuosity."* With the magistrates of
Gracias a Dios he was " a brawler, a bad man, a
bad friar, a bad bishop " " Bellaco, mal hombre,
mal fraile, mal obispo."
The man and his memory, however, bore out-
rage well. Loaded with injuries and indignities
by the President Maldonado, the venerable pre-
late could bow down his head, extend his hands
on his breast, and say with profound humility,
" I merit truly all that you say of me, Senor
Licenciate Alonso Maldonado." + "Away with
the madman ! " — " Echad de ahi a ess^ loco," was
the cry against him on his way from Guatemala,
and yet he could pursue his route without dis-
composure or disquiet.
It was only at Chiapa, where the majesty of
virtue and the dignity of godliness regained their
* Robertson's History of the Indies. Book Third,
t Quintana.
NEGRO SLAVERY. 11
empire over the populace for a time, that as he
passed on he was disconcerted, when the cry was
raised, "This is the holy Prelate, the venerable
Protector, and the father of the Indies !'* " Este
es el Santo Obispo, el venerabile Protector, y
padre de los Indios."
In Spain, he was from first to last " a visionary,
a fanatic, a zealot, a turbulent friar, a seditious
priest, an enemy to his countrymen in the colo-
nies." The Bishop of Burgos confuted "his
dangerous opinions;" the Chaplain of Charles
the Fifth, a great theologian, a renowned canonist
— the Doctor Juan Gines de Sepulveda — com-
posed two huge folios against the character and
wicked principles of Las Casas.*
We imagine this is an obsolete policy, an ancient
course, a Roman Catholic specimen of colonisa-
tion polemics, an old Spanish device, emanating
from Satan and his ministers. Fools that we are !
the argument of Sepulveda pervades the principle
and the policy on which the extermination of the
natives of Van Diemen's Land has been justified
by the colonists and the company who colonised
that island ; and that argument, that principle and
that policy have virtually, though not avowedly,
* Sepulveda, in his work, propounded the monstrous doctrine,
that the Indians, and all barbarous people like them, *' were na-
turally slaves,' ' and might lawfuUy be held in slavery ; that it was
lawful to make war on savages, and to reduce them into servitude :
— ** Que se subjugan a aquellos que por su suerte y condicion
necessariamente ban, de obdecer k otros, no tenia noda de injusta
(y por consequencia) que Siendo los Indios naturalmente siervos,
barbaros, incultos e inhumanas de se, negaban solea succeder, a
obdecar a otros hombres mas perfectos, era justa, sujetarlas por la
fuerza, por la guerra, a la manera, que la materia se sujeta a la
forma, el cuerpo al alma, el apetito a la razon lo peor a lo mejor."
12 THE ORIGIN OF
received the sanction, the reluctant sanction of
the local Government.
This is the argument, worded however in less
revolting terms, in all the Australian colonies, for
the seizure and occupation of the country. This
is the principle, glossed however differently, on
which they are ruled, against the wishes even of
the Imperial Government ; and the policy that is
pursued towards them, in spite of the most en-
lightened governors of them, varies only from
that of the Spaniards, inasmuch as we take the
land on which the natives live, without their
labour ; for we take their lives as effectually by
converting their hunting grounds into sheep
runs, as if we killed them off in mines ; while the
Spaniards took the land of the Indians chiefly for
its gold, and made slaves of the aborigines to
procure it, in their greater greediness for present
gain. The process of destruction is slower in our
colonies, but not less sure than it proved, three
centuries ago, in those of Spain in the New World.
Need we then marvel at the treatment Las
Casas received at the hand of his contemporaries ;
at hearing that military adventurers of the New
World made war on him ; that the political and
mercantile interests of Spain were at daggers
drawn with his principles ; that the friars of the
order of San Francis preached against his "mon-
strous tenets ; " that the children of " the Con-
questadores" were taught to hate his name and
execrate his memory ?
This was all as it should be. Why should Las
Casas, "the Apostle of the Indies," have been
NEGRO SLAVERY. 13
better looked on than "the Saviour of the
World," who was, in the opinion of its wise,
learned, and exalted men, " a companion of pub-
licans and sinners," " seditious," " pestilent," " a
glutton," " a wine-bibber," and " a blasphemer ? "
Thus it was before — Socrates was judicially
murdered and reprobated — and thus it will be,
while one truly wise, heroically humane, and pre-
eminently just and merciful being wages war
with avarice, cruelty and oppression, with " tlm
Prince of Darkness," in any of his shapes
amongst us.
The Bishop of Burgos (the oldest and most con-
stant of Las Casas' enemies) ; Quevedo, Bishop of
Darien ; Frias, of Albornoz ; and Sepulveda, the
Chaplain of Charles the Fifth, have had their
day. Herrera the Spaniard, and Robertson the
Scotch historian (the latter furtively and covertly),
have lent their aid to those who have obscured
the fame of this eminent person by their efforts
to prove that nature destined the aborigines to
slavery, and religion required that they should
be dealt with as an inferior race of human beings.
But Las Casas, Francis of Vittoria; Garcia,
Bishop of Thalasco ; and Ramirez, Bishop of
Segovia ; Pedro de Cordovo, and Antonia de
Montesinos! — in which of the Australian colonies
are we to look for the prototypes of those
men?
Herrera brought the charge against Las Casas,
of recommending the introduction of negroes into
the West Indies, upwards of thirty years after the
death of the latter.
14 THE ORIGIN OF
He states, that the reason given for this recom^
mendation was, that " one negro worked better
than four Indians."
How could Las Casas have known this supe-
riority of the negro to endure compelled labour in
the West Indies, if negro slavery had not already
existed there ?
If the project originated with him of ravaging
Africa, and all the horrors of this traffic had
been known to him, how does it happen that
Herrera speaks of him as " a man of exemplary
zeal, of doctrine full of sanctity," and that he
defends his character against Oviedo and
Gomara?
If Las Casas recommended the introduction of
negroes into the West Indies who had been car-
ried into Spain, does it follow that no similar
introductions had previously taken place, or that
he foresaw the systematic ravages of the men
robbers of latter times, on the coast of Africa ?
If he exaggerated the cruelties practised by
his countrymen on the Indians — as Campomanes,
Nuix and Munoz assert he did — how came it to
pass that the aborigines perished in so short a
time?
Herrera, while he affects to be wholly unpre-
judiced on this subject, cautiously throws the
weight of his implied opinions against Las Casas.
But Robertson, who derives his information*
chiefly respecting Las Casas from Herrera, deals
with Herrera's impressions as recorded facts,
enlarges on those impressions, and dogmatises on
them, with all the cool self-sufficient confidence in
NEGRO SLAVERY. 15
his own opinion of a man who had made himself
thoroughly acquainted with all that was worth
knowing on any given subject, and was privileged
to pronounce " ex cathedra" on its merits.
It is a singular circumstance, that none of Las
Casas* contemporaries among the Indian histo-
rians refer to the charge brought against Las
Casas by Herrera. Charlevoix reiterates Her-
rera's precise assertions, without citing his autho-
rity. Sepulveda, the arch enemy of Las Casas,
never alludes to it. Clavigero, in his "History of
Mexico," imputes many errors to Las Casas, but
says not one word on the subject of this charge.
But, on the other hand, I must admit it seems
strange to find not one word in the works of Las
Casas that can be considered as recommendatory
of the emancipation of negroes ; except in that
portion of them where, speaking of himself and
his former opinions, he condemns the error he
had fallen into, of recommending some negroes to
be brought to the West Indies from Spain, and
thus speaks of it : —
" And because certain Spaniards of this island
(San Domingo) said to the priest Las Casas,
after their manner of viewing things, that the
Dominican friars refused absolving those who
held Indians, if they did not relinquish them ; and
therefore, if a licence was obtained from the
King, if they might not carry hither from Spain
a dozen of Tiegro slaves who would assist the
Indians ; the priest according with this proposi-
tion, stated in his memorials that it would be an
act of grace to the Spaniards in these islands, to
16 THE ORIGIN OF
obtain a licence for them * to bring /rom Spain a
dozen of negro slaves, more or less/ Tiiis advice
that licence should be granted to bring negro
slaves into these lands, the priest Las Casas first
gave, not considering the injustice with which the
Portuguese had taken and made them slaves."
Speaking of the representations made to him by
the Spaniards of San Domingo, he says, " They
informed the priest Las Casas, suiting their
statements to their views, that the clergy refused
them the sacraments if they would not abandon
their Indians, therefore they sought a licence
from the King to introduce about a dozen, more
or less, of negro slaves, to enable them to relax
the severity of the labour of the Indians. And
the priest Las Casas consenting to this proposal,
in his memorials asked this, to bring from Spain
the dozen or so of negroes to relieve the Indians."
" Este aviso de que se diese licencia para traer
esclavos negros en estas tierras dio primero el
clerigo Casas no advirtiendo la injusticia con que
los Portugeses los toman y haren esclavos." Las
Casas evidently speaks here of the first recom-
mendation for the introduction of negroes into
which he had been entrapped, not reflecting there
was an injustice in holding or taking slaves.
In the latest production from the pen of Las
Casa^, he confesses the grievous fault he had
fallen into, and begs for the forgiveness of God,
in the most contrite terms, for the misfortunes he
had so far brought on the poor people of Africa, by
the inadvertence of his counsel ; " and this confes-
gion," says his historian, Quintana, " of his error,
NEGRO SLAVERY. 17
SO full of candour and contrition, should disarm
the rigour of philosophy, and hold his benevolent
disposition absolved before posterity."*
The Abb6 Gregoire wrote an able apology of
Las Casas, which he read before the Institute, the
12th of May, 1804, " Apologie de Don B. de las
Casas, par le Citoyen Gregoire." The author,
probably being ignorant of the Spanish language,
and certainly unacquainted with the many valu-
able stores of ancient historical literature, recently
laid open by Quintan a in his great biographical
work, in his zeal for the memory of the Apostle
of the Indies, denies all the assertions of Herrera,
respecting Las Casas* recommendation of the
introduction into the West Indies of some- ne-
groes, certainly without being warranted in so
doing.
The documents brought to light by Quintana
leave no doubt whatever on the subject. Las
Casas himself, in various of his works, refers to
it, and in his memorial, in 1516, presented to
Cardinal Cisneros, he suggests, " que cada com-
munidad mantengo algunos negros," that every
district should maintain a certain number of
negroes. — Vide " Extractos de Munos." Previous
to this memorial, when the Government ordered
him to propose some remedies for the state of
things in Terra Firma, he presented a memo-
rialj and the third remedy proposed in it was,
"que llevan francamente los negros y los ne-
gras."
* Quintana. Vidas Espanoles Celebres, torn. 3, pa. 304,
et seq.
18 THE ORIGIN OP
Pauw states that the first proposal for negro
slavery was rejected by Zimenes, and approved
by Cardinal Adrian. This historian, not unfre-
quently called " the fabulist," though Robertson
appears to have borrowed largely from him, says,
that the Spanish minister, in 1616, accorded the
exclusive privilege for the purchase and sale of
negroes to Chievres, who, not seeing his advan-
tage in it, sold it to the Genoese merchants for
43,000 ducats, whose company for a long time
bore the name of the Company Grilles.
It was to furnish, the first year, 4000 negroes
of both sexes ; but it understood its interests too
well not to elude a part of its contract ; and it
only brought, the first year, 1000 slaves to the
Indies, 500 males, and 500 females, who disem-
barked, the beginning of 1517, at the isle of St,
Domingo.
He goes on to state, utterly disregardful of
truth, however, that this odious traffic was sanc-
tioned by a bull of the Pope in 1440. The
Infant Don Henry was the first Christian prince
who made use of negro slaves, and Ferdinand,
" the Catholic," sent some into America so early
as 1510, without asking the Pope's permission.
Herrera says. Las Casas' proposal was laid
before the Council of the Indies, and was ap-
proved by the Cardinal of Tortosa, the Grand
Chancellor, and the Flemish ministers ; and that
the members of the Tribunal of Commerce of
Seville were consulted as to the number of
African slaves that it was proper to send into the
four islands of St. Domingo, of Fernando, of
NEGRO SLAVERY. 19
Porto Rico, and Jamaica. Scarcely had they
answered 4000, than cupidity caused certain
people to give information to the Governor
of Bresa, a Flemish cavalier, member of
the Council of the King, and his Grand
Major Domo, who obtained the monopoly of
this privilege.
But slaves were not only bought and sold at
Lisbon and Seville before Las Casas was born,
but transported from Spain to the West Indies,
long before he set his foot on those shores.
Negro slaves were brought from Guinea, and
sold to the Spaniards by the Portuguese in 1443,
according to Anderson; according to C. J.
Friere, in his life of the Infant Don Henry, in
1444, in the reign of Don Henry, and under the
direction of Gonsalez. Sandoval, in his work
on the laws of the Indies, states expressly, that
" the traflSLC in African slaves existed long before
the discovery of the New World ;" and Munoz,
in the first book, page 3, of his " History," says,
" the trafiic was very active in Seville at the time
the Spaniards passed into America."
Herrera says, that some African negroes were
brought to Hispaniola in 1498.
He states, likewise, that it was ordained by the
Spanish sovereigns to allow negro slaves, who
were in the power of Christians, to pass into
America, and to have the proceeds of the duties
established for this purpose applied to fiscal du-
ties, so early as from the year 1502.
Anderson speaks of slaves being brought to
St. Domingo in 1503.
20 THE ORIGIN OP
Hargrave states that some negroes were brought
to San Domingo in 1508.
In 1610, Diego de Nicuesa, in his ship Trini-
dady by order and on account of the Government,
carried to St. Domingo thirty-six negro slaves.
In 1613, the treasury began to issue licences
for the slave-trade at two ducats each.
In 1514, certain Portuguese were captured off
San Domingo, and deprived of their Bozal ne-
groes. They memorialised their Government,
complaining of this outrage, and ended by
saying that they had been deprived of " ciertos
negros que Uevaban hurlados de la costa de
Guinea."*
Fletcher mentions,in his " Life of Zimenes," some
negro slave licences for the West Indies, granted
by the Cardinal in 1517. Las Casas arrived in
Spain that year, in July or August, and the death
of the Cardinal took place the same year.
This could not be, then, the beginning of the
slave-trade, for Fletcher adds, that there was a
public market for slaves in Lisbon in 1509. A
letter, he observes, of the Chevalier Goes, shows
that slaves were bought at Lisbon, at prices vary-
ing from ten to fifty ducats each, in 1509. Las
Casas did not go to the West Indies till 1514.
His proposition for some negroes to be sent from
Spain to the West India islands was in 1516,
eighteen years after their introduction according
to Herrera, thirteen years according to Anderson,
and eight years according to Hargraves.
The fact is, the Portuguese and Spanish slave-
* Quintana, vol. iii, page 467.
NEGRO SLAVERY. 21
trade began nearly thirty years before Las Casas
was born.
Herrera, apparently referring to a period prior
to his ardval, states that the Dominican friars,
haying vehemently urged the amelioration of the
condition of the Indians, an order had been issued
" by all possible means to send into the country a
great number of negroes of Guinea, finding that
an African worked as much as four Indians."
(Dec. l,book9,ch. 15.)
He likewise states that the fathers of Saint
Jerome, who arrived there in December, 1616,
" Did not wait long before they demanded black
slaves," in 1516. (Dec. 2, book 2, ch. 22.)
Modern slavery received its first condemnation
from Pope Julian the Third, in 1537. Two briefs
were sent from Rome to America ; in the first we
find these words : — " By the invention of Satan,
many, incited by the most miserable ambition,
dare to pretend that the West Indians and other
people recently discovered, on the pretext of their
not being Christians, ought to be reduced to
slavery and submitted to their will, like mere
animals. . . . But being truly men, as
Christians, are consequently capable of receiving
the faith of Jesus Christ, and to possess lands,
they cannot be deprived either of their property
or of their liberty." Remesal and Torquemada
cite this brief. A passage of the second is also
cited by Hemesal, wherein the Pope orders the
Archbishop of Seville, then Metropolitan of the
Indies, to repress, "by canonical penalties the
most severe, the temerity of those impious per-
22 THE ORIGIN OF
sons, in order that they may no more dare to
condemn Indians to servitude, whilst their quality
of men admits of their being made Christians,
and of saving them. They ought not to perish
in slavery, but to be conducted to the faith by
preaching and good example."
Las Casas, on the strength of these bulls, and
of the terms "alias gentes," pleaded, it is pre-
sumed, for both Indians and negroes. We are
informed by Doctor Mier, of Mexico, in his letter
to the Abbe Gregoire, that he did so ; but I have
not met with any proof of this assertion in Las
Casas* works.
It is very strange indeed, as I have already
observed, that in Las Casas' " Apology," as far as
I have read, not one word in favour of negro
emancipation is to be found, except it be in that
condemnation of his conduct in his own " History,"
lib. 3, cap. 101, "Because they (the negroes) had
the same rights as the Indians." " Porque la
misma razon es de ellos que de los Indios."*
There is some consolation in finding, amidst
the general perversion of ideas at that period,
with respect to the rights and liberties of men not
Christians, just notions were even then to be
found on this subject, and to be found only in the
church and monastic institutions, and even in the
synods and councils held in Mexico and Peru.+
In one of the latter is to be found language
that breathes the truest spirit of Christian bene-
volence. The crime of holding slaves, negroes
* Quintana. Vid. Cel. Espanos.
t CoUectio Maxima Conciliorum, Art. 3 and 5, cap. 4 and 5.
NEGRO SLAVERY • 23
and negresses, is particularly denounced, and
especially on the part of ecclesiastics.
Las Casas began and ended his mission like a
true teacher and preacher of gospel truth. He
maintained the obligations of the gospel law on
all men, at all times, in all places. He did not
compound with avarice or ambition for the sake
of preferment, of quiet, or of gain, or from
motives of fear or favour, for reasons of state, or
from feelings of deference for a prevalent perver-
sion of religious principles. He did not com-
promise the Gospel, he did not conciliate the
rapacious, and therefore Dr. Robertson's autho-
rities of the New World find in his conduct evi-
dences of " rashness and imprudence," and
"headlong enthusiasm."
At the commencement of his career as a slave-
master, having Indians " both in the mines and
fields," on referring to the Scriptures for a text
for a sermon he was about to preach, he was
arrested in that career on coming to those words
in the book of Ecclesiasticus — " The Most High
approveth not the gifts of the wicked, neither
hath he respect to the oblations of the unjust,
nor will he be pacified by the multiplicity of their
sacrifices." . . . "He that oflereth
sacrifice of the goods of the poor, is as one that
sacrificeth the son in the presence of his father."
. " The bread of the needy is the life
of the poor, he that defraud eth them thereof is a
man of blood." " He that sheddeth blood and he
that defraudeth the labourer of his hire are
brothers."
24 ^ TUE ORIGIN OP
From this moment he abandoned his property
in men, he renounced his share in the " Reparti-
mientos," and devoted his life to the advocacy of
the rights of the enslaved natives of the New
World.
But how does the Scotch divine account for
this heroic Christian conduct? *' He early adopted
(says Dr. Robertson) the opinion prevalent amongst
churchmen^ with respect to the unlawfulness of
reducing the natives to servitude." Not one
word of commendation could the historian afibrd
Las Casas on this occasion for his conduct.
From this time he denounced from the pulpit
the sin of enslaving the Indians, at the peril of
his life, " for it was the same, (to use his own
words,) to tell the Spaniards that they could not
hold the Indians in servitude, as to say they could
not make use of the beasts of the field." " El
decir que no podian tenir las Indios en su servicio,
era la misma que decir que de lo/^ bestios del
campo no podian servirse."
The abominable pretext of making the Indians
slaves, in order that they might be instructed in
the faith, " que pudiesen ser doctrinada en la f&,"
was rejected by Las Casas ; and it behoves us to
bear in mind, that the same impious and hypo-
critical apology for subjecting savage nations to
our sway, continues to scandalise Christianity, and
to outrage civilisation to the present day. Be it
remembered that the " Repartimientos," which
originated with Columbus, and ended with the
extermination of an entire people, with slight
variations of form, were couched in these terms : —
NEGRO SLAVERY. 25
*'To you, (so and so,) so many Indians are
allotted in such a district, to be instructed in our
holy religion." " A vos fulano se os encomiendan
tantos Indios en tal Cacique, y ensenelas los, cosas
de nuestra Santo F^ Catolica."
Simon Bolivar began the revolution of South
America by the manumission of his slaves. He
brought his efforts to a successful termination by
the sword. Las Casas began his mission by a
similar emancipation of his bondsmen, but it
pleased God that the sword of the Spirit, which
was his weapon, should not prevail over his
enemies. It was decreed by Providence, whose
dispensations are not questions of time, judgments
of days, of years, or of centuries, that the arms
of the Spanish people should be turned against
each other in either hemisphere, and that the
failure of the eflTorts of the Apostle of the Indies
should be a calamity to the Spanish nation, in
all probability, to the remotest period of its
history.
One of the most reprobated of the late acts of
the apostolate of Las Casas we find recorded in
the work of Remesal (Decad. ii. cap. 8), where
he informs us that the good bishop instructed the
priests of his diocese to refuse the sacraments to
the oppressors of the Indians, " if they would not
give their slaves their liberty, indemnifying them
for their labour during the period of their slavery."
This proceeding may not have been in accord-
ance with the principles of modern political econo-
mists, but it was in accordance with the precepts
of our religion and the golden rule of the Gospel,
c
26 THE ORIGIN OF NEGRO 8LAVERY.
" Do unto Others as you would that others should
do unto you."
Did Las Casas depart from it, when he recom-
mended African negroes enslaved in Spain to be
transferred to the New World, no matter what the
numbers were, — a dozen, or a score, or a hundred?
Before that question be answered, it behoves us
to inquire what was the despair in which he was
plunged when that inadvertent counsel was
given, at the failure of every effort of his for the
alleviation of the miseries of the Indians? What
foresight could he have had of the vastness of the
horrors of the modern African trade in slaves?
What reason have we to disbelieve his own protes-
tation of not having considered the injustice with
which these Africans had been enslaved, and the
declaration of repentance of his proposal, " be-
cause they (the negroes) had the same rights as
the Indians," or the last record of his conscious-
ness of "the grievous fault he had committed,
and of the inadvertence of his counsel, which was
his plea before God for forgiveness for the misfor-
tunes he had brought on the poor people of Africa."
Let him whose philanthropy is without fault,
and whose nature is superior to error, cast the
first stone at the memory of the venerable Bar-
tholomew Las Casas. Let him wliose labours for
humanity can be compared with those of the
Apostle of the Indies, measure the amount of
indiscretion which was committed in one parti-
cular proceeding by this faithful missionary, single
and unaided, in a warfare with oppression and
injustice, such as this world never before witnessed.
27
THE COMMERCE OF CUBA WITH AFRICA IN
SLAVES.
This subject has been treated of by Senor
Si^a, in a very valuable paper on the import
duties on newly introduced slaves from Africa, or
Bozal negroes, as they are termed in Cuba.*
The oflScial returns, from which the following
statement of his, respecting those duties, is taken,
afford very important information.
It is to be borne in mind, that the only im-
portations from Africa into Cuba are slaves,
with the exception of a small quantity of gold-
dust, which affects not the exactness of those
returns. They represent solely, it may be stated,
the value of those Bozal negroes sold in the
Cuban market. This very ipportant statistical
paper is to be found at p. 60, of Senor Sagra's
excellent work.
Importations into Cuba from Africa,
1803 2,683,800 doUars.
1804 769,120 „
1805 1,400,000 „
1806 1,682,200 „
1807 960,666 „
1808 594,590 „
1809 406,700 „
1810 2,235,200 „
1811 2,032,304 „
1812 2,189,747 „
1813 1,621,800 „
1814 1,512,950 „
1816 2,659,950 „
* " Historica Economica de la Isle de Cuba."
c 2
28 COMMERCE OF CUBA
From the same work of Senor Sagra the fol-
lowing details on the same subject are taken.
By the royal contract of 1713, the duty was
fixed at 33J dollars a head.
By the contract of 1715, at 33J dollars per
head, with obligation to sell the negroes at 200
dollars a head to the public.
By the royal cedula and contract of 1760, the
price was fixed at 290 dollars for the adults
(piezas), 260 for the grown-up boys and girls
(mulecones), and 230 for the smaller children
(muleques) ; fixing the duty at forty dollars for
the first, twenty-six for the second, and twenty
dollars for the third.
The royal cedula of 1766 did away with these
duties, and substituted an annual capitation tax,
payable half-yearly, of three dollars for each
male adult negro or lad ; twelve reals for each
adult woman or grown-up girl ; and eight reals
for each smaller child, of either sex.
In 1768 this tax was found too oppressive, and
was removed by royal order of this date. From
this time the old duties were in force, till 1 784,
when, by royal order, the duty was fixed at nine
dollars a head.
In 1786 the price of the negroes introduced by
Baker and Dawson was fixed at 155 dollars, to
the public; and subsequently increased to 185,
and 175 for piezas and mulecones.
By the royal cedula (1789), the trade was
opened for two years, and then for two years
more; and in 1791 the people of Cuba were
permitted to purchase slaves in foreign markets.
WITH AFRICA IN SLAVES. 29
without any duty. In 1792 and 1793 the exten-
sion of the Cuban trade in slaves was further
privileged by permission to trade direct on the
coast of Africa, with exemption from every duty,
until the prohibition of the trade in 1817.
We have now to refer to the establishment of
the Mixed Commission Courts, the operation of
which, at the commencement, aflTected consider,
ably the commerce in slaves.
The Mixed Courts of Justice, presided over by
commissioners (in each oourt two British officials,
and two also of the country under whose flags
the vessels have been captured which are brought
before it for adjudication), were instituted in pur-
suance of the following treaties with
Portugal,— 27th November, 1817.
Spain— 22n(l November, 1817.
Netherlands— 26th May, 1818.
The Brazils— 26th November, 1826.
All traffic in slaves by British subjects, or
employment of British ships in it, was prohibited
by those treaties.
The Portuguese were allowed to carry on the
trade between Cape Delgado and Lawrence till
] 830 ; at that period their slave-trade north of
the equator was to cease to be legal.
The Spaniards were allowed to continue the
trade south of the equator till the 20th May,
1820 — then the total abolition was to ensue ; and
five months subsequent to the period their slave-
trade vessels were allowed to complete previous
voyages.
The Netherlands undertook to abolish entirely
30 COMMERCE OF CUBA
tbeir slave-trade within a term of eight months
after the treaty was ratified.
The Brazils undertook to prohibit the trade
totally from the 13th of March, 1830. The pre-
ceding year, Mr. Consul Pennell stated, the
number of slaves imported into the Brazils was
22,813.
In December, 1817, a royal cedula was pub-
lished in Madrid, setting forth the progress of
the slave-trade : — " The royal proclamations of
28th September, 1789, the 12th April, 1798, and
22nd April, 1804, opened an unrestricted slave-
trade in national and foreign vessels ; but
deeming the time arrived for the abolition of
this trade, it is ordained, &c.
"Art. 1st. — That it shall immediately cease
north of the line, and the negroes who may be
brought on the said coasts shall be declared free^
in the first port of my dominions at which the
ship in which they are transported shall arrive."
Art. 3rd (of the same cedula ! ! !) declared — That
from the 30th of May, 1820, " the traffic in slaves
shall cease in all my dominions, as well in Spain
as in America — the same penalty extending to
the trade south of the line as to the north of it ;
AND FRKEDOM TO THE NEGROES SO BROUGHT INTO
THE Spanish colonies."
This decree succeeded the publication of the
treaty of 1817.
By the royal cedula of 1817, (never promul-
gated, however, in Havana,) all captains, officers,
and pilots found on board slavers were declared
liable to transportation, and confinement in a
WITH AFRICA IN SLAVES. 31
fortress of the Phillippine Islands, for ten
years ; but no penalty for seamen is made men-
tion of.
The penalty decreed by the Spanish penal code
for infraction of the law against the slave-trade
was ten years' hard labour, for engaging in that
traffic as captain, master, and supercargo ; the
negroes to be liberated, and to receive 100 dollars,
provided half the proceeds of the sale of vessel
and equipments realised that sum ; the purchasers
of negroes to forfeit their property in them, and
to pay a fine equal to the price they paid for
them, half of the said fine to go to the pur-
chased negro. — Reports^ 1824, Class -B., page
373.
This penalty was to be carried into execution
from the 21st April, 1823. The decree, however,
to this effect was never promulgated in the
Havana, and on the fall of the constitutional
system it became null and void.
SLAVE-TRADE PROTECTED BY THE SPANISH
AUTHORITIES IN CUBA.
The slave-trade received a great impetus from
the sanction extended to it by the venality of
General Tacon, the captain-general of the island,
in 1836-6-7 and 8.
Tacon, on his arrival in Cuba, publicly de-
nounced the slave-trade. He said, in one of his
proclamations — " No habia venido agui mas que
por hacer la felicidad de esta isla : y castigaria
con severidad ellos que hallarse en ese traffico
infame." " I came to Cuba only to promote the
32 SLAVE-TRADE PROTECTED BT
welfare of the island, and I will severely punish
all who shall be found engaged in this infamous
traffic."
In less than four years he received 28,000
doubloons for contributions levied on the slaves
he permitted to be introduced clandestinely by
the merchants engaged in this infamous traffic.
His delicacy did not permit him to let the price
of his connivance at it be laid on his table, like
former governors, " la venalidad ha su delicadez."
He received it at second hand from his confi-
dential agent, who, at his departure, accompanied
him to Spain.
So publicly did he permit the sales of African
slaves to take place, that five or *six marts or
barjacoons were allowed to exist within gun-shot
of his country seat, outside the walls of the
Havana.
It is indubitable, says the author of the " Bos-
queio de D. Miguel Tacon en la Isla de Cuba,"
that the capitation tax of ten dollars (his portion
of the doubloon which was received) which
was paid to him, "for importation of slaves,
in a little less than four years, the term of his
government, produced 600,000 dollars, at least,
to General Tacon."
The principal Spanish and Portuguese slave-
traders had regular agencies in London so late
as 1839. Darthez, Brothers, and Company,
were not only agents, but for many years had
an interest in the house of the Havana slave-
trader Forcade, of infamous notoriety in the
slave-trade Parliamentary Reports.
THE SPANISH AUTHORITIES IN CUBA, 33
At the Gallinas and in Whydah a London
house had agents, who carried on large operations
in trade with the principal slaye-traders, Don
Gaetano and De Souza, at those places.
There were two insurance companies at the
Havana exclusively, or chiefly, engaged in the
insurance of expeditions for slaves. In 1838,
however, the insurance companies in the Havana
took no slave-trade risks, but private under-
writers undertook them at thirty-five and forty
per cent., and gained by it, says Consul Tolme ;
now, he adds, in December, 1838, the risks are
from thirty-three to thirty-six per cent. Insu-
rance is made on slave-trade ships, when owners
are advised of cargoes being ready to be shipped
on the coast. The insurance is the same on
Spanish and Portuguese vessels. The insurers are
bound not to insure for more than 36,000 dollars,
but they are seldom done for more than 20,000.
The majority of owners, however, do not insure
at all.
The slave-dealers are largely assisted by the
Bank of San Fernando, at the Havana. The
bills of the former are discounted, and other assist-
ance rendered to them, when the pressure of
their traffic leaves them in need of money. The
capital of the bank is one million of dollars ; they
pay seven per cent, on deposits, and discount at
ten per cent. The temptation to gamble in the
slave-trade may be judged of by the following
document.
c3
34
EXPENSES AND PROFITS OP A SLATE-TRADING
VOYAGE.
Mr. M'Cleay, the British Commissioner at the
Havana, gives the following statement of a
slave-trading expedition. — Par, Rep. 1829, Class
^., p. 115.
The Firme^ condemned at the Havana, was
captured with 484 slaves. From the papers
found on board it appeared :—
DoUan.
The outward cargo and specie for purchase of the
slaves (one half of which was in specie, the
other half in spirits, gunpowder, printed calicoes
and handkerchiefs) was 28^000
By contract found on board for seamen's wages, it
appeared there were sixteen able seamen at forty
dollars a month ; twenty ordinary, at thirty-
five dollars. Wages to be forfeited in the event
of capture. The vessel was ten months absent ;
had she returned safe, the wages of seamen
would have been 13,400
The captain and officers were part owners and had
shares.
Wear and tear during the voyage calculated at ... . 10,600
Total expenses of voyage 62,000
THE HETUHNS.
484 slaves, market price in Havana (if sold) at
300 dollars a head 146,200
Deduct expenses 62,000
Net profit on voyage 93,200
In sterling, £18,640.
This vessel might have made two voyages in
a year.
36
FREE LABOUR IN THE WEST INDIES.
Senhor Saco, in advocating the introduction of
white men into Cuba to supply the place of negro
labourers, observes, that the ravages of yellow
fever are confined to the coasts and as all the sugar
estates are in the interior, the white labourers
would have nothing to fear. The premises are
false, and the inference is consequently erroneous.
The sugar estates are chiefly in the interior, but
a great many of them are within a range of from
two to five miles from the coast. The yellow fever,
moreover, is not confined to the coast in Cuba, nor
in any of the West Indies. Its ravages are chiefly
in the towns on the sea shore, but not entirely.
The German emigrants who came to Jamaica, in
1834, mostly perished of yellow fever in the coffee
plantations, which are not situated on the coast.
The same happened with the Irish emigrants at a
later period. New comers, who are exposed to
the sun, and who commit excesses of any kind, I
have frequently known attacked with yellow fever
in the plains, Am^ ner^er in the mountains at an elevation
exceeding two thousand feet above the level of the sea.
The great ravages of yellow fever are, however,
in the large towns on the coast, and especially in
those where rivers fall into the sea. There seems
to be some noxious influence particularly preju-
dicial to health in the mixture of fresh and saltwater.
If a stranger escapes yellow fever the first year,
and is attacked the second, the disease will be in
a milder form ; and if he escape the second, the
probability is, he will not be attacked at all. It is
very rarely that the same person is attacked twice.
36 FREE LABOUR
Senhor Saco truly observes, that the negroes in
Cuba are exempt from yellow fever, but so are the
Creoles, or descendants of Spaniards born in the
island, and other Europeans, natives of countries
with similar climates to that of Cuba. As to
strangers, a very large portion of those newly ar-
rived escape, he should have added, provided they
live temperately, and avoid exposure to the sun.
Of those attacked the majority recover. During
the years 1 828-9-30, by the hospital returns, there
were 1,221 cases in the Royal Marine Hospital, in
the Havana. The deaths were only fifty-seven —
less than five per cent. ; and in the military hos-
pitals the deaths were even less — three and a half
per cent. The mortality, however, is certainly
much greater in private practice, as far as my ex-
perience goes, in Cuba and Jamaica.
Senhor Saco gives a statement of the compara-
tive expense of free and slave labour in the Spanish
colonies : —
Dollars.
A good master, he says, estimates at the lowest
average the yearly expense of mainteDance,
clothiiig, and medical treatment; of a hundred
negroes for field labour , 4,562
The latter sum, and amount of cost of slaves, in
other speculations, ought to yield 10 per cent,
per annum, say 4,000
The owners of slaves say the mortality varies from
three to seven per cent, a year ; — a few will tell
you it amounts to fifteen or eighteen ; and Saco
estimates it and loss of labour from old age at ten
per cent, per annum, which rate of mortality in a
hundred slaves would cause an expense yearly of 4;,000
The charges attendant on loss of time from sickness,
child-bearing, running away, capture, fees for
baptism and burials, he estimates at per year. . 800
Total charges 13,362
IN THE WEST INDIES. 37
The account stands thus for 100 slaves : —
Dollar*.
Maintenance, clothing, and medicine 4,562
Interest on capital 4,000
Loss by deaths and old age 4,000
Charges arising from pursuit of runaways, &c 800
Cost of the slave labour of a hundred negroes . . 13,362
The cost of free labour, calculating for 100
labourers, would be : —
Dollan.
Fifty men, at 12 dollars a month per annum 7,200
Fifty women, at 10 do. „ 6,000
13,200
The balance, by this estimate of Saco's, in favour
of free labour, would therefore be 162 dollars;
and by another estimate cited by him, of an intelli-
gent Havana proprietor, which reduces greatly
the wages of free labourers, the balance would be
2,612 dollars. But all my experience in Jamaica
and Cuba would lead me to believe both of these
estimates to be utterly fallacious.
It is absurd to arg4ie in favour of the advantages
of free labour over that of slaves, without reference
to the circumstances of both ; the expense of in-
troducing white men (which is entirely omitted
in the preceding calculation), and the interruption
in labour from the greater liability to sickness, in
the case of white men in tropical climates, from
disorders arising from the greater tendencies to
excesses of all kinds.
It should be borne in mind, that white women
will not, and cannot, labour in the field, in the
West Indies, like female negroes ; that such con-
tinuous labour, above all in crop time, cannot be
38 SLAVE AND FREE TRADE IN PORTO RICO.
obtained from them — as the owners of slaves com-
pel the latter to yield eighteen, and even twenty
hours a day during that season, by means of terror
and of torture.
It should have been observed by Senhor Saco,
that the children of slaves are compelled to do a
great deal of that labour which, if slavery were
abolished, would have to be done by adult white
labourers. It should, in fine, have been candidly,
and honestly, and fearlessly of all consequences,
been acknowledged —that the terror of the whip
is a greater stimulus to labour, which is excessive
and destructive to health and life, than the love
of gain ; and lastly, that without reference to pros-
pective, and even distant permanent advantages,
it is a folly to pretend that the same amount of
labour can be obtained by the employment of white
men, remunerated for their toil, as can be extorted
from slaves, whom it is the interest of their owner
to work to the utmost possible extent, compatible
with the support of health and strength, for a term
of eight or ten years — on the same principle as
those persons who " horse" coaches calculate on
the endurance of the animal's strength for a given
time, and are compensated for the shortness of it
by the extra work taken out of them, and are
enabled, at the expiration of that term, to replace
the horses that have been worn off their legs.
SLAVE AND FREE TRADE IN PORTO RICO.
Colonel Flinter, in his work on Porto Rico,
says that in 1832 there were 300 sugar estates
worked by slaves, and 1 ,277 small properties in
EMANCIPATED SLAVES SOLD INTO SLAVERY. 39
sugar cane (" sitios pequenos*'), with small mills
of a simple kind, made of wood (en madera),
worked all by free labour; and in 1832, of
414,603 quintals of sugar, the whole produce of
the island, 80,000 quintals at least were the pro-
duce of free labour.
THE SLAVES NOMINALLY EMANCIPATED PREVI-
OUSLY TO 1835, DELIVERED OVER TO THE
SPANISH AUTHORITIES, SOLD INTO SLAVERY.
The negroes of the captured slavers tried and
condemned at the Havana, previously to the
treaty of 1836, were delivered up to the Spanish
authorities of Cuba, liberated from slavery by the
sentence of the Mixed Commission Courts. The
governor was charged with the care of this class
of helpless persons, and was to see their rights as
free men protected, while they underwent an
apprenticeship for the purpose of learning some
handicraft trade in the principal towns in the
island. But no sooner did the captain-general
receive the emancipados into his hands, than he
sold them to the planters of Cuba — nominally for
a term of years, usually seven ; but virtually for
ever — into slavery. For at the expiration of the
seven years it was always found that the eman-
cipados were reported, on the books of the estate,
dead ; and if any were admitted to have survived,
they were sold over again, and the proceeds paid
as before to the governor. The most scandalously
open traffic of this kind that had been at all prac-
tised in the island was that which was carried on
by General Tacon.
40 VIOLATION OP
It was constantly denounced by the commis-
sioners and superintendant of liberated Africans.
It was precisely the same in the Brazils.
Mr. Consul-general Pennell writes from the
Brazils, January 12th, 1837 : — " At present, the
services of the negroes emancipated are sold by
auction for fourteen years, at about 90,000 reis
per annum."
Mr. Hesketh writes, August 3rd, the same
year : " The emancipated negroes are subjected
to a worse fate than that of the slaves regularly
purchased." Lord Palmerston, the same year,
remonstrated with the Brazilian Government on
the treatment of the negroes nominally liberated,
that notwithstanding the terms of the decree of
the 26th January, 1818, which appointed a tem-
porary apprenticeship to some handicraft trade,
they were taken to the mines in the Brazils, sold
over again, and reported dead.
The total number of liberated slaves, from the
commencement of the operation of the Mixed
Commission Courts in Sierra Leone, to the 1st of
January, 1839, amounted to 65,359; of which
number those registered there were 48,359.
VIOLATION OF THE TREATIES FOR THE SUPPRES-
SION OF THE SLAVE-TRADE ON THE PART OF
THE SPANISH, PORTUGUESE AND BRAZILIAN
GOVERNMENTS — CONSTANT DENUNCIATIONS OF
THOSE INFRACTIONS BY BRITISH AUTHORI-
TIES, AND UNAVAILING REMONSTRANCES OF
THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT.
The violation of the anti-slave-trade treaties by
SLAVE-TRADE TREATIES. 41
the Spanish authorities in Cuba was noticed in the
Cortes by Senhor Benavides, deputy for Grenada,
in the following terms : — " The fact is, there are
treaties which are not observed ; there is a mise-
rable cupidity which takes possession of persons
who ought to prefer their honour to a grave
crime, and this crime is tolerated by the Govern-
ment." " Pero es el caso que existen tratados
que estos tratados no se cumplen que una ga-
nancia mesquina arrastra a personas, que en mas
debieran estimar su honra a un delito grav^ y que
delito se tolera por el gobierno." — {Revista de
Madrid, p. 125.)
Mr. Kilbee, the chief commissioner at the
Havana, in 1824, speaking of the inefficiency of
the measures employed to put down the slave-
trade, says: "The evil having become of such
magnitude, and the present system having been
found utterly ineffectual for its suppression, some
alteration would appear to be unavoidable." . . .
. . " The slave-trade with this island now is as
extensive as ever, and is necessarily carried on
with greater cruelty. The abolition by Spain is
therefore merely nominal."
April 10th, 1825. The commissioners at the
Havana say : " We regret to state, that from
every information we have received, the slave-
trade of the Cape de Verd Islands has rather
increased than diminished."
In July, 1825, the British minister communi-
cated to the Spanish ambassador the fact often
complained of, that the additional articles to the
treaty of 1817, imposing penalties on those en-
42 VIOLATION OP
gaged in the slave-trade, had never been pro-
mulgated in Cuba; and again, in 1839, the
commissioners complained that the additional
penalties ordained by the treaty of 1836 had never
been promulgated in Cuba, nor put in force.
In January (6th), 1826, the Duke of Infantado
addressed, the British minister, in reply to his
remonstrances, stating that the Archbishop of
Cuba and the Bishop of Havana had been in-
structed by the royal cedula to make known to
the parochial clergy and their parishioners, " that
from the moment of the prohibition of the slave-
trade, the* continuance thereof in any way became
a matter of conscience;" and further, that a
penalty had been promulgated, the one ordained
by the Cortes having been annulled in the
ease of persons purchasing slaves (a fine of 200
dollars for each), and an ofier of liberty to
slaves who may denounce the purchasers or
importers.
August 19th, 1825, Mr. Kilbee writes from
the Havana to the captain-general — " The slave-
trade with this island is now fully as extensive,
and is carried on in all its branches with very
nearly as much publicity as if the treaty of 1817
was not in existence."
In 1827, Mr. M'Cleay, speaking of thirty-one
vessels cleared out for Africa, says, the number
was " twice as many as in any year since the
establishment of the commission."
In 1828, the commissioners of the Havana
say, " the number of slaves could not have been
less than 7,000 ; the number of vessels cleared out
SLAYE-TRADB TREATIES. 43
for the trade was sixty-three, and twenty-eight
had arrived."
In 1829, the number of vessels cleared out from
the Havana was forty-five. The commissioners
state, "they believe, and with good reason, the
Spanish laws will never be put in force against
them" (the slave-traders).
Mr. M'Cleay wrote, in the beginning of the
same year, to Lord Aberdeen, — " The slave-trade
of this island is at as great a height, and even a
greater height than ever."
Mr. Canning, in a communication to the British
minister at Madrid, July 2lst, 1826, speaks of
the utter insuflSciency of the existing measures
for suppression of slave-trade.
The British commissioner at the Havana, Mr.
M'Cleay, July 19th, 1830, speaks of " the noto-
rious ineflBciency of the present system."
The British commissioners at Sierra Leone,
September 21st, 1830, writing to Lord Aberdeen,
say, " There would then appear, we regret to
say, but little likelihood of the slave-trade ever
being completely suppressed by the present re-
strictive measures employed to prevent that traffic,
which are totally inadequate to effect so desirable
an object."
In 1835, eighty-one Portuguese and Spanish
vessels arrived in Cuba, of which only one was
engaged in lawful traffic ; of those, seventy-eight
were under the Portuguese flag. See Consul
Tolme's report in Slave-trade Papers of 1837,
Class A, page 67.
Estimating the cargo of slaves in each vessel
44 BXPENSE OF BRITISH BFFORTS
at 300, the total number of slaves introduced
would amount to 24,000, and the value of each
slave at 300 dollars, the entire value of this one
year's importation would amount to 7,200,000
dollars, which, in sterling, would be near one
million and a half.
EXPENSE OF BRITISH EFFORTS FOR THE SUP-
PRESSION OF THE SLAVE-TRADE.
The total cost of our efforts for the suppression
of the slave-trade, during a period of thirty years,
is estimated, by Sir T. F. Buxton, at twenty
millions sterling. "It is lamentable," he ob-
serves, " to think that this vast outlay has not
been attended with a diminution of the slave-
trade, but, on the contrary, with an increase to
double its extent, at the expiration of thirty years
from the date of these efforts with foreign powers.
When they commenced their exports of slaves
from Africa, they did not exceed 76,000 ; and
now," he says, "they exceed 160,000, and pro-
bably reach 260,000 a year, for the western slave-
markets alone."
My own opinion is, that the increase in the
term referred to is from 75,000 to 100,000.
There is an observation of Sir T. F. Buxton
on this subject well deserving of attention, namely,
that the profits of the slave-trade set all our efforts
at defiance ; they are more than five times that
amount (thirty per cent.) at which it is an axiom
with custom-house officers any illicit trade can
be suppressed.
This opinion seems to be confirmed by the
FOR SUPPRESSION OF SLAVE-TRADE. 45
official communications addressed to Viscount Pal-
merston, which we find in the Slave-trade Papers.
Mr. Ousely, our minister at Rio Janeiro, writes
to his lordship, the 19th of May, 1836,—" In-
surances can he, and are daily effected at Havrey
by the slave-dealers , and those connected with
them, at as low a rate as eleven per cent., which
proves the great profits and comparatively small
risk attending this abominable line of business,
the principal, but, by no means, the sole followers
of which are Portuguese ; the French are also
participators in this trade ; and the authorities
of her Most Faithful Majesty more than indi-
rectly are interested in encouraging it.
" The slave-dealers look upon every efibrt of
Great Britain effectually to interfere with the
Government of Portugal for destroying their
trade, as utterly hopeless, and even express them-
selves in slighting and highly improper terms, on
the measures hitherto adopted, or about to be put
in force, by his Majesty's Government, for its
extinction."
Some idea of the charges attending our anti-
slave efforts may be formed from the following
particulars, and likewise of the opinions enter-
tained of the sufficiency of those efforts for the
great object in question.
On the 18th January, 1831, the Board of
Trade addressed Lord Palmerston, calling for
stronger measures of suppression, stating that
the means employed " only led to a partial inter-
ruption of the trade."
The expense of the cruising squadron on the
46 EXPENSE OF BRITISH EFFORTS, ETC.
coast of Africa, in a communication of Sir James
Graham, dated January 11th, 1831, is thus
noticed — " I have been struck by the increasing
charge of the squadron on the coast of Africa,
now amounting to £100,000."
The charges attending the Mixed Commission
Courts may be estimated to some extent approxi-
mating truth by those of the Mixed Court at the
Havana, as the latter were computed by me in
May, 1839. But one of the charges — namely,
that of the British receiving ship then stationed
at the Havana — no longer exists, and was confined
to the latter place.
Charges of Mixed Commission Courts at the Havana, and
Expenditure connected with them in 1839.
Salaries of commissioners, secretary, and charges of
office £3,000
Bounty or head money for captures, estimating
captures at five in the year and 300 negroes in
each capture, say 1600 negroes, at £5 per head 7,600
Incidental expenses of the Mixed Court, British share
of those charges 250
Salary of superintendent of liberated negroes 800
Expense of receiving ship for liberated Africans
{TheBomsey) 1,800
Removal of five " cargoes" of liberated negroes to
our colonies 6,000
Total expense per annum £18,350
We have now Mixed Commissions likewise for
the adjudication of captured slave-trade vessels
at Sierra Leone, at Loando, at Kingston i:n
Jamaica, at Rio Janeiro, and St. Helena.
The expenditure for these six commissions, and
MORTALITY OF SLAVES, ETC. 47
the establishments connected with them, the
attendant charges, head money, and the amount
of pensions for retired officers belonging to those
commissions, I estimate altogether at £100,000
a year.
The total cost of the liberated African depart-
ment in Sierra Leone, St. Helena, and its minor
branch es« averages about £25,000 a year. The
charges and allowances for wear and tear of the
cruising squadrons on the coasts of Africa, the
West Indies, and the Brazils, I take at Sir James
Graham's estimate for the year 1831, at £100,000.
Expenditure at home, for additional legal and
official services, on account of our anti-slavery
efforts, and parliamentary publications, I estimate
at £25,000 a year. Total expenditure of our
anti-slavery eflForts exceeds a quarter of a million
a year by £25,000.
MORTALITY OF SLAVES ON BOARD THE VESSELS
EMPLOYED IN THE SLAVE-TRADE, BETWEEN
CAPTURE AND ADJUDICATION, AND SHORTLY
AFTER LANDING.
In the parliamentary Slave-trade Papers, from
1817 to 1838, we find numerous instances of an
enormous mortality on board the slave-trade
vessels, and soon after their arrival or capture.
January 9th, 1817, Mr. Chamberlain, from
Rio Janeiro, gives a statement of the arrival in
the Brazils of forty-two vessels from Africa ;
numbers embarked, 21,195; the deaths within
a year of their disembarkation were 2,062. In
1818, fifty-three vessels arrived from Africa, he
48 DEATHS OF SLAVES AT SEA.
states ; the number of slaves embarked was
22,231 ; and the deaths within the year of their
arrival, 2,429.
In 1821, the slaves embarked for the Brazils
were 24,363 ; the deaths of those newly arrived
within the year were 3,311.
In 1822, the number embarked for Rio was
31,240, in sixty-nine vessels; the number of
deaths on the passage and soon after arrival was
3,484.
In 1823, political troubles in Portugal con-
tributed to reduce greatly the slave importations
into the Brazils ; 20,483 slaves were embarked
for Rio, and 1,388 deaths took place out of that
number.
In 1824, the numbers embarked for Rio were
29,211 ; the deaths were 2,499.
In 1825, the numbers embarked for Rio were
27,675; the deaths amounted to 1,906.
DEATHS OF SLAVES AT SEA.
The Seyunda Maria, condemned at Sierra
Leone, March 25th, 1826, took on board 258, of
which number seventy-two died before adju-
dication.
The Orestes, condemned at Havana, March
15th, 1826, took in 285 slaves, of which number
seventy-three perished at sea; 212 having been
emancipated.
The Campeador, condemned at the Havana,
27th September, 1826, took in 300 slaves, of
which number forty-seven perished before adju-
dication.
DEATHS OF SLAVES AT SEA. 49
The Midas, condemned at Havana, 14th July,
1829, took in 562 slaves, of which number 271
died before adjudication.
The Fama de Cadix arrived in Cuba 22nd
July, took in 983 slaves, landed about 300 ; deaths
at sea, 680.
The Christina, condemned at Sierra Leone,
I9th November, 1829 ; 348 captured. Before ad-
judication, 126 died of small pox.
In 1829, during the six months from January
to July, the consul at Rio Janeiro reported the
embarkation of 25,179 slaves for the Brazils, and
deaths at sea of 2,230.
May 21, 1830, the Santiago, condemned at the
Havana, took in 144 slaves ; 105 were liberated,
thirty-nine having died before adjudication.
May 1, 1831, the Umbelina, condemned at
Sierra Leone, took in 377 slaves; 161 were
liberated, 216 having died between capture and
adjudication.
My limits prevent me from giving the details
of the mortality on board slave-trade vessels from
1831 to 1839, the period of my departure from
the island of Cuba ; but these, if given, would
present a picture no less frightful than those of
any equal term in the preceding statement.
50
CHAPTER II.
CUBAN COMMERCE.
Free trade principles — strange to say, in our
days — were carried into practical eflTect in a country
where slavery and the slave-trade exist, — in Cuba,
before they were recognised in any European
country. In 1818, this island extorted the privi-
lege from the Spanish sovereign of exporting its
products to whatever country seemed most advan-
tageous for its commerce, and of opening its ports
to strangers. This singular fact has been little
noticed, and the extraordinary eflfects that followed
the freedom of trade in this distant colony seems
likewise to have escaped observation in European
countries.
Previously to 1818, Cuban commerce was con-
fined to Spanish ports. In 1511, the Spanish
colonisation of Cuba commenced, and in 1774 (the
date of the first census), the white population
amounted only to 96,000 inhabitants. So that it
took 263 years to give the island a white popula-
tion under 100,000. From 1774 to 1792, Cuba
continued a poor, dependant, struggling colony,
without energy, commerce, or agriculture sufficient
even for the charges of its government; these were
borne by the mother country, or provided for by
the American settlements of Spain. Cuba was
regarded only by the mother country as a con-
<3UBAN COMMERCE. 51
venient military and naval station, adjacent to its
possessions in the Gulf of Mexico.
In 1778, the misery of the island was so great,
that the Spanish sovereign, Charles the Third, was
induced, by royal ordonnance, to annul the mono-
poly of the trade of Cuba, which was enjoyed by
the merchants of Cadiz and Seville. Cuba was
privileged to trade with thirteen Spanish ports.
This privilege was attended with some advantage,
and this first encouragement to Cuban commerce
was followed by a remarkable increase in popula-
tion. That which took 263 years to reach the
amount of 96,000, was augmented in fourteen
years (namely, from 1778 to 1792) by an addition
of 37,000.
So much for the effects even of a partial abo-
lition of the slavery of trade.
Still the agriculture of Cuba languished till
1792, when the French revolution extended to the
island of St. Domingo, and the refugees of that
colony carried with them to Cuba a knowledge of
the coflfee plant.
A large district of the northern parts of the
island, called the " Vuelto Arriba," was soon laid
out in coflfee plantations, and thus the elements of
colonial prosperity, banished from St. Domingo,
found a refuge in Cuba. The island, however,
suflfered most severely from the ravages of the
French cruisers on its coasts in 1793, and some
succeeding years. The rigour of the blockade
reduced the inhabitants to the greatest misery.
In a state of famine, the white inhabitants forced
on the attention of the governor and colonial ad-
d2
52 CUBAN COMMERCE.
ministration the necessity of taking on themselves
the responsibility of suspending the laws which
prevented the introduction of provisions in neutral
vessels, in exchange for the produce of the island,
without waiting for the sanction of the mother
country. Their supplication was attended to, and
in a few weeks the Havana was crowded with
American vessels, bearing an abundant provision
of flour and salted meats. The famishing people
were filled with joy at the arrival of these vessels,
and at the fortunate results of a legislative mea-
sure, emanating from their own authorities, in
opposition to the laws of the Spanish sovereign.
^ new impulse was now given to agriculture, and
much land that had never before been tilled was
brought into cultivation.
The first measure of the colonial administration
which led to improvement, that of 1793 (an inno-
vation on the imperial legislative power), was
soon followed by another. In 1794, a decree was
issued in the colony for opening the ports of the
island to neutral vessels bringing stufts for cloth-
ing (of which the want was then great) into the
colony. Cuba thus continued in the enjoyment
of the advantages arising from legislative inde-
pendence, so far as the measures went for the
introduction of food and clothing into the island,
till 1801. In the latter year, Charles the Fourth
issued an ordonnance, commanding the authorities
in Cuba to revoke the two colonial edicts of 1793
and 1794. Spain had only then the will, however,
to reduce the distant colony to entire legislative
dependence and submission to her laws.
CUBAN COMMBRCfi. 53
In 1812, the Constitution being proclaimed in
Spain, the whole people of the colonies were assi-
milated to the inhabitants of the mother country,
with respect to representation. Havana was
worthily represented, in the first Spanish Chamber
of Deputies, by Senor Arango. In one of his
discourses, wherein he spoke of the prosperity
arising from the partial operation even of the
system of free trade in Cuba, he said, "96,000 in-
habitants (white) in 263 years — 160,000 in twenty-
four years," was a matter worthy of consideration.
In J 818, the good efiects of colonial represen-
tation were manifested in the successful efforts of
Senor Arango with the King, Ferdinand the
Seventh, for Cuban interests. He obtained a
royal ordonnance from his Majesty, for the aboli-
tion of restrictions on Cuban commerce.
From tliis epoch the prosperity of the island
may be dated.
Instead of being a charge to the Imperial
Government, it began to remit large sums of
money yearly to the Spanish Government; instead
of having authorities and troops paid by the latter,
both were henceforward paid by Cuba.
An army of 26,000 men, sent from Spain in a
miserable plight, was maintained in Cuba, in a
few years entirely equipped and clothed, and dis-
ciplined in the best manner, without costing a
real to the Spanish Government. From 1 830, the
treasury of the Havana, in every embarrassment
of the home Government, furnished Spain with
ipeans, and was in fact a reserved fund for all its
pressing emergencies. When the civil list failed
54 CUBAN COMMEBCB.
Queen Christina, Cuba furnished the means of
defraying the profuse expenditure of the palace.
The contributions arising from the island formed
no small portion, indeed, of the riches bequeathed
by Ferdinand the Seventh to his rapacious widow,
and to his reputed daughters. Cuba, moreover,
furnished the means of setting on foot the luck-
less expedition of Barrados, for the reconquest of
Mexico ; and from 1832 to 1 841, it had exchanged
thirty-six millions of dollars against an equal
amount of government paper.*
At the latter epoch, the white population reached
to 500,000 souls, and its exportations were four-
fold what they were in 1818. With the United
States its trade had been prodigiously augmented.
The imports from North America amounted to
eleven millions of dollars; from England, five
millions; Germany, Russia, and the Brazils,
four and a half millions. The exports to Spain
amounted to twenty-five millions, and the im-
posts on them yielded, moreover, a very large
revenue ; so that Spain profited greatly by the
liberal measure of 1818. Cuba yielded a net
revenue to Spain of a million and a quarter
sterling, furnished timber and stores largely for
the Spanish navy, and entirely supported the
Spanish army in Cuba. The revenues of the
island, moreover, occasionally served for a gua-
rantee for loans, foreign and domestic. The
Spanish Government, however, a few years later,
was very far from proceeding in its conduct
* " L' He de Cuba," par F. Clave, Revae des Deux Mondes,
Juin, 1847.
CUBAN COMMERCE. 55
toward Cuba in the spirit of the decree of 1818,
or with good faith in regard to that free trade
measure.
The ministries of erery kind of polities con-
sidered, not what large revenue the island yielded,
but how it was possible to get more from it. The
decree of 1818, which gave a free entrance into
Cuban ports of the merchandise of other countries^
did not leave the products of the island altogether
destitute of protection. An exception was made
likewise in favour of Spanish flour, and a heavy
duty was imposed on foreign flour. Many cir-
cumstances, however, conspired to render the
inequality of no avail. The Custom House re-
turns for 1826 show the importation of American
flour to have been 71,000 barrels, and that of
Spanish flour, 36,000 barrels. The contraband
introduction the same year is estimated at 20,000
barrels.
In 1829, the Spanish Government, in violation
of the spirit of the decree of 1818, imposed
excessive tonnage dues on foreign vessels in the
ports of Cuba. But this law did not produce all
the effects expected from it. The Spanish flour
imported then amounted to 85,000 barrels. In
1831, it fell to 39,000, and two years later to
25,000 barrels.
In 1833, the new Spanish Constitution shut
out the colonists from the imperial representa-
tion. This most unjust, impolitic, and irritating
measure affords a fair specimen of the liberality
and wisdom of Spanish liberalism. It produced
a feeling of hatred against the mother country
56 CUBAN COMMERCE.
that never before existed in Cuba. In 1 836-7-8;
and 9, a general feeling of disaffection per-
vaded the whole white Creole community of
Cuba. All the intelligence, education, worth and
influence of the white natives of the island (or
Creoles, as they are called in the island) was en-
listed against the Government and the sovereign
of Spain, and an intense desire for independence
excited. The old rapacious policy of Spain was
renewed, of considering every species of Cuban
produce as a commodity of a distant region, that
it was legitimate to burthen with oppressive
taxes. Nevertheless, the fertility of the soil and
the advantages of freedom of trade which Cuba
enjoyed for some time posterior to 1818, (for the
law was not formally abrogated, but onjy contra-
vened, for some years, by numerous intermediate
restrictions,) enabled Cuba to bear up against all
the subsequent oppressive and impolitic measures
of the mother country.
The law of 1818 not only enlarged the interests
of, but the ideas of the colonists. It was the
means of opening a very extensive trade with
America, and intimate relations with Americans.
In 1834, the Spanish Cortes passed a law, im-
posing a duty of nearly ten dollars a barrel on flour
imported into Cuba, and assimilated very nearly
the tonnage dues of Cuba and all other vessels.
This measure was ruinous to the merchant marine
of Cuba ; and when it is remembered that the
island offers vast advantages for ship building in
her forests of the best woods for construction,
and up to 1798 had furnished timber for the con-.
CUBAN COMMERCE. 67
^truction, in the arsenal of the Havana, of 125
vessels ^fifty-three of which were frigates, and
six three-deckers — it is obvious how impolitic
such a measure must have been.
From 1825 to 1840, from one port alone,
timber suflScient for the construction of thirty
fi'igates had been exported to England. It
was no longer required in the colony. Ship
building had almost ceased in Cuba.
Notwithstanding the new enormous impost on
flour (hitherto chiefly imported from America), it
was soon found that the American flour, though
superior in quality, could be sold nearly as cheap
in the Cuban market as the Spanish. From
1835, when the new law came into execution, the
importation was nearly equal from the two
countries.
The law of 1 834, which was virtually enacted
against American commerce, provoked reprisals
in the Congress of the United States. New ton-
nage duties, largely augmented, were laid on
Cuban vessels; and, in 1843, on the sugars and
tobacco of the Spanish islands.
It is to American enterprise, however, in Cuba
that the opening may be referred of new markets
for its produce in South America, in Yucatan,
Carthagena, Vera Cruz, Tampico, and Cam-
peachy, since the retaliatory imposts on Cuban
shipping in the ports of the United States had
shut out the sugar and coffee of Cuba and Porto
Rico from them. Notwithstanding this inju-
rious interference of the mother country with
Cuban trade, and all the expenditure occasioned
D 3
68 CUBAN COMMERCE.
by railways, improvements in agriculture and
manu&ctures of sugar, the pay of the army and
the navy on that station, the judicial and other
civil establishments of the island — from a million
and a quarter sterling to a million and a half-
continued to be sent in specie every year to Spain,
to the coffers of the State.
69
CHAPTER III.
REVENUE OF CUBA, AND ITS SOURCES.
Senhor Saco observes of the revenue of Cuba,
that the expenses of Government, previous to the
independence of the South American colonies,
used to be sustained by an annual sum of 700,000
dollars, sent from Mexico ; but, in 1827, all the
revenues of Cuba amounted to 8,469,974 dollars,
and these were devoted to the charge of Govern-
ment, and the imperial treasury.
The mercantile movement in Cuba, or amount of
exports and imports combined, exceeds, according
to the able and accurate author of the " Isla de
Cuba, &c., en 1836," thirty-three millions of dol-
lars (pase trente tres milliones. des pesos fuertes),
say, about six millions and a half in sterling.
The earliest accounts of the revenue (given by
Sagra in his " Historia Economica") and of the
imports and exports are the following.
The revenue of thcf island was —
In 1759 *... 163,605 dollars.
„ 1778 886,868 „
„ 1788 892,393 „
,,1794 1,136,918 „
,,1811 ...2,624,140 „
,,1820 3,491,540 „
„ 1826 6,722,198 „
,,1826 7,097)000 „
,,1828 9,086,407 „
,,1830 8,972,648 „
60 REVENUE OF CUBA,
The imports and exports of Cuba, for seven
years : —
Dollars. Dollars.
17fi9 Imports 1 ,527,268 Exports 616,664
1770 „ 1,292,630 „ 760,426
1771 „ 1,283,291 „ 786,003
1772-)
1773 [ „ 6,867,396 „ 3,693,939
1774)
Total for seven yrs. „ 10,960,474 „ 6,765,032
Dollars.
From 1826 to 1830, the Imports averaged yearly 17,336,190
And the Exports 14,206,768
The revenue of Cuba, in 1836 (contribuciones
indirectos), amounted to 21,106,159 dollars; in
round numbers, about four millions and a quarter
sterling. This revenue arose from —
Dollazy.
The Lottery 1,000,000
Decimal tax on rent • 416,169
Ditto (ovencional) 260,000
Municipal taxes 100,000
Post offices 300,000*
Custom Houses and Excise 9,000,000t
Products of Census.... , 4,000,000 1
Stamps. 240,000
Ditto Pliegos at ten dollars each 4,800,000
Regalos Cocheros y trampas 1,000,000
Total : $21,106,169
* The foregoing fiye items are taken from Sagra's ** History
of Cuba." .
t From the Balanca Mercaniilet 1834.
X From Sagra's work.
AND ITS SOURCES. 61
The duties collected in all the ports of the
island, in —
Dollars.
1831, were 4,795,405
1832 „ 4,792,178
1833 „ 5,235,371
1834 „ 5,098,288
1835 „ 5,426,060
1836 „ 5,743,793
1837 „ 5,809,775
In the Custom House of the Havana, the
duties in —
1836 were $4,018,438. In sterling, £803,608
1837 „ 4,161,284. Ditto 832,257
The whole of the duties collected in the island,
in 1837, in sterling, in round numbers (calculating
five dollars to a pound) was £1,161,955.
Previously to 1838, American flour paid a duty
of nine and a half dollars per barrel, and a further
duty of one per cent, on the above impost. Since
the 9th of August, 1838, an additional tax of four
reals per barrel was laid on ; so that the present
duty (October, 1839) is, per barrel, ten and three-
quarters dollars.
While Spanish flour, imported in Spanish
vessels, pays only two and a quarter dollars,
American flour now costs, in the United States,
per barrel, seven dollars. The enormous duty
on American flour causes a very large smuggling
trade, in American corn, to be carried on in
Cuba. To make a good bread, or of a colour
sufficiently white for the taste of the Cuban
62 RBYENUE OF CUBA, AND ITS SOURCES.
Creoles, to Spanish flour one-fifth part, at least, of
American flour must be added.
The enormous tax of about 150 per cent, on
the prime necessary of life is felt to be a most
oppressive one. The price of bread is most
exorbitant.
In English money, the duty on flour imported
into Cuba, in Spanish ships, is 13s. 6d. per barrel,
and in American vessels, £2 2s. 9d. per barrel.
French wines, English hardware, and German
linens pay 34^^ per cent. ; the same commodities
from Spain, 7^ per cent.
The duties levied on Spanish shipping is
2s. 9d. a ton ; on foreign, 6s. 9d. a ton.
The revenue of Cuba, Sagra observes, in his
" Historia Economica," is one of the strangest
paradoxes in the financial afiairs of any country
in the world, taking into consideration the small-
ness of the population which yields it. All
articles of primary necessity comi^ from abroad ;
the clothing and the food of the whole labouring
population, with the exception of some roots and
vegetables.
The quantity of soft goods sold in Cuba, as the
foreign merchants well know, in proportion to the
population, far exceeds the sales made in any
cfther country. All the flour, rice, lard, salt fish,
salt beef (tassajo), oil and wine, cheese and
butter, come from abroad. Those foreign com-
modities consumed in Cuba amount in value,
according to Sagra, to seventy-nine dollars for
each individual (upwards of fifteen pounds
sterling).
COCK FIGHTING. 63
Each white person in the island, he estimates,
pays in taxes sixteen dollars a year. The editor
of the " Gartera" makes the same observation ;
but my opinion is, that when local and eccle-
siastical imposts and decimal taxes are added
to those paid for State purposes, the amount
paid by each white person is at the present time,
1 839, forty dollars instead of sixteen.
COCK FIGHTING.
The " estanco del juego de gallo** is one of the
royal sports of Cuba which enriches the Spanish
treasury.
The sovereigns of Spain condescend to derive
their revenue from the vilest sources, as they
have been rapacious enough to snatch them from
the most sacred ones.
The cock-pit and the church have been alike
put under contribution to minister to the exi-
gences of royalty, or supply the wants of minions
like Godoy and Munoz.
By a royal cedula of 26th November, 1740,
in which his Majesty calls on the Cuban autho-^
rities to give an account of this branch of the
revenue, it appears this impost had been pre-
viously established ; and Sagra, in his *' Historia
Economica," adds, that it was sold for six years
in 1763.
It passed, then, into the hands of the treasury,
and was reduced to two reals for every fight,
without artificial spurs, and three reals with
them — ^^ dos por cada pelea al pica y tres con-
cuchillos." The proceeds of this tax, when the
64 LOTTERIES.
privilege was not rented, went directly into the
treasury; but, since 1802, it goes into the admi-
nistration of the land revenue.
From 1775 to 1788, it yielded 46,154 dollars.
From 1825 to 1830, „ 70,688 „
The mean income of this tax now is, yearly,
14,163 dollars.
In the time of General Vives, a recent go-
vernor, Sagra observes, "this sport received every
encouragement from his excellency, and, I am
sorry to add, still receives, from many of the
country clergy."
LOTTERIES.
Another of the gambling means of obtaining
money for the Spanish Government from the
people of the island of Cuba is the lottery.
In 1803, the king of Spain sent a royal
cedilla to the intendant, or chief financial autho-
rity of the island, for the establishment of a lottery
in Cuba, but the project was not acted on till
1812.
The number of drawings vary from twelve to
fourteen a year, with two or more extraordinary
drawings, with a fund of 140,000 or 160,000
dollars.
About a million of dollars is annually spent in
this branch of gaming by the people of Cuba.
This lottery is conducted i^v-ith perfect fairness.
There is scarcely a domestic slave in Cuba who
can beg, borrow, or steal the price of a part of a
ticket, who does not purchase one.
STATE OF PARTIES IN CUBA. 65
I have known several instances of slaves having
obtained their freedom by prizes in the lottery.
In one case that came within my own know-
ledge, a slave boy, belonging to a Miss Lyons,
got a prize of 300 dollars. In the absence of the
mistress, the money was paid to her agent, the
governor's English interpreter, Mr. Payne, on
the boy's account. On the return of the mistress,
the latter refused to give the boy his liberty or
account for the money. I brought the case
before the sindico. The lady was summoned to
appear before him, but the result of the pro-
ceeding was not communicated to me during my
stay in the island, " The law's delay," in Spanish
settlements, is proverbial, and in all probability
this case, like most others, ended in wearing out
all hope of redress, and favouring injustice that
had time and money to bestow upon its interests.
STATE OF PARTIES IN CUBA CREOLE AND
SPANISH INTERESTS — RAPACITY OF THE SPA-
NISH GOVERNMENT AND OF ITS OFFICIALS
IN THAT ISLAND.
The state of Cuba in 1839 was the subject of
several publications and brochures, some clandes-
tinely printed and circulated, all bearing very
hardly on the Government of the mother country
in general, and on the administration of the
despotic governor. General Tacon, in particular,
who had retired from the government of Cuba
in the early part of that year. There were many
circumstances at that period which tended to ex-
asperate the Creole inhabitants and to indispose
them towards the Spanish Government.
OO 8TATB OF PARTIES IN CUBA.
The representation of Cuba and Porto Rico in
the Spanish Cortes was put an end to in Feb-
ruary, 1837, by an act of exclusion which shut
out " 08 deputados de ultra mar actuales y futu-
ros," and proposed to regulate the government
of those colonies '* par leyes speciales." A very
able pamphlet against this measure, worthy of
the most serious attention of the English Govern-
ment, was published in Madrid in 1837, by one
of the excluded deputies, — Don Jose Antonio
Sacco, deputado k Cortes electo por la ysla de
Cuba. This pamphlet was entitled, " Examen
Analytico del Informe de la Comission Espanol
Nombrado par las Cortes, sobre la exclusion de
los deputados de ultra mar."
The decision of the Cortes was in violation of
the new Constitution. The 28th Article of it
stated that " the basis was the same for national
representation in both hemispheres," and by the
29th Article, in Cuba, the basis was the popula-^.
tion of the island, composed of natives who, in
both lines, were of Spanish origin.
The 6th Article determined the word "Spa-
niards " all men bom free, and naturalised in the
Spanish dominions, and their children, and the
freed people belonging to them (libertos.)
The remedy for thfi violence and rapacity of
governors the Spanish liberals sought in special
laws for the colonies.
" I desu-e," says Arguelles, " that the American
colonists should be as happy as ourselves ; but,
first, let passions cool ; " and then, in the blessing
of the " laws of the Indias," he finds the panacea
STATE OF PARTIES IN CUBA. 67
for all Cuban evils, as if those same laws could
avoid the accumulation of abuses and iniquities
which time and slavery must engender.
From the reasonings of Sanchez it would seem
that the special colonial system renders the con-
nection with the mother country more firm. But
how, let me ask, have the most civilised nations
grown up? They have risen to national great-
ness ent of a colonial childhood.
Legislative distinctions between the colonies
and the mother country ought to be limited to
the strictest necessity, for otherwise, in place of
educating the colonial child in feelings of attach-
ment to the mother country, you bring him up as
an alien to your institutions.
I do not know any people who have proceeded
in this way advantageously with their colonies.
Many variations in their condition naturally arise,
without officiously augmenting them by difierences
in our laws.
The misgovernment of the Stuarts in past ages
carried to the New World the seeds of republican
independence, which quickened in due time, and
the new plant of nationality spread at length
over Spanish America : — thanks to the ignorance
and vices of a despotic Government.
If such events happen in coloiiies which grow
up with the simulacra, at least, of the laws of the
mother country — is it not an indication that the
union with it must be strengthened by educating
colonies not as aliens, but as children?
The policy of the Phoenicians towards their
colonists is well known. Even after their colonies
m BTATE OF PABTIES IN CUBA.
declared their independence, they preserved cer-
tain religious anniversaries in honour of their
former ties in the temples of the mother country,
in which festivities they were assisted by deputies
from the emancipated cities ; and their commercial
relations, in place of being interrupted, became
strengthened and enlarged.
The special system, if adopted at all, should
consist in an organisation the most similar that
can be devised to that of the mother country,
both as respects common and municipal laws,
in order to admit of a state of things adapted
to the growth and advancement of a colony,
and to free the mother country from the
fatigue and responsibility of too much govern-
ment.
Colonial questions are not questions only of
cloths and hardware, they have grave results for
civilisation in general.
The civil organisation of Spanish America first
began to manifest itself when political liberty was
on its last legs in the mother country.
Well-regulated colonies may be likened to the
absorbent system in the healthy body. The
action of each on the aliment of life or liberty is
for a similar result : the transmission of the
element of vital power for the reparation of
wasted strength, the re-production of its material
in new formations.
But the Austrian dynasty, to which Spain is
indebted for its sovereigns, could have no faith
in liberal institutions, either at home or in the
colonies. Charles the Fifth took the surest
STATE OF PARTIES IN CUBA. 69
method to destroy them in Spain and Italy, and
transmitted his policy to his successors.
It was General Tacon's custom to represent
every man who was obnoxious to his views, or
unfriendly to himself, as an enemy of the mother
country and to the integrity of the nation. From
1820 to 1838, this has been the customary lan-
guage of the governors of the island, to recom-
mend their loyalty to the Government at Madrid,
and to obtain rewards and decorations for feigned
services to the State. Tacon, apologising for his des-
potism, said that the period of his taking on him
the government was a delicate crisis. But how many
such conjunctures since 1808 have there not been ?
In 1808, was the first crisis in Spain, which
produced in the South American colonies the
establishment of the legislative assemblies, in the
name of Ferdinand the Seventh, which lapsed
into independent Congresses. In the island of
Cuba, also, there was an idea of establishing an
assembly of this kind (Junta de Gobiemo), but it
was soon abandoned, and the island recognised
the authority of the Supreme Central Junta of
Seville, and remained faithful to it.
In 1812, came the second crisis, when the Con-
stitution proclaimed at Cadiz was extended to
Cuba, and, without diflSculty, the same form of
government as that of the mother country was
established here.
In 1814, was the third crisis, when the decrees
of Ferdinand the Seventh, of the 4th of May,
annulling the Constitution, were received, and
promptly obeyed in the island of Cuba.
70 STATB OF PARTIES IN CUBA.
In 1820, succeeded the fourth crisis, re-
establishing the Constitution of Cadiz (el Codigo
de Cadix).
In 1830, came the fifth crisis, when the Consti-
tution was again abolished, and the old despotism
was again quietly returned to, at the mandate of
the absolute king, in *' the always faithful island
of Cuba."
In 1833, came the sixth crisis, when the new
law was promulgated in Cuba, and received
obediently by the inhabitants.
In 1837, came the seventh crisis, with the
formation of another Constitution, and in the
island of Cuba it was received ; that is to say, the
promise contained in the last article of it, of
special laws for its government, was received in
expectation, but the special laws have not made
their appearance.
If any governor could have with reason talked
of the danger of the crisis of his time, it was.
Brigadier- general Kindellan, in 1822, who
governed pro tempore. He beheld two parties
in hostile array, with arms in their hands, pro-
voking one another to fight, like the heroes of
Homer, with the most frightful threats and
invectives. This poor old man, possessed of
neither moral nor physical force to repress these
disorders, and no troops suflBicient to restore
order, found the country to all appearances in
the most imminent danger of a civil war; and
what was the result of all this warlike move-
ment ? Everything terminated peaceably — as the
peaceable inhabitants expected, who knew them-
STATE OF PARTIES IN CUBA. 71
selves — in eating and drinking, in laughing and
shouting; after a short season of braggadocio,
every man went about his own business, or his
own vices. Such is the Cuban character, docile
or puerile, the anti-revolutionai-y character of a
slave country, which Tacon understood not. A
three days' riot in the Havana, and on the fourth,
the ordinary course of things, without one drop
of blood being shed ; and all this ended without
the intervention of the Government — all yielded
to the old natural instinct of fear and self-pre-
servation, which is common to all the residents of
the white class in the island of Cuba, to a discreet
sympathy with interests strongly linked and
carefully fostered — the interests of egotism,
which cause social interests to be postponed to
any undefined period, if any such interests are
known in Cuba.
And the period of these disorders, be it recol-
lected, was that when the voice of independence
was shouting across the Gulf of Mexico — never-
theless» the ears of the people of Cuba were shut
to the invitation, and not a single movement in
all these turmoils was ever made towards a
separation from the mother country, which the
Grovemment felt called on to put down by force
of arms. The conspiracy of 1823, detected in the
time of General Vives, deserves not to be con-
sidered as an exception ; without plan or object,
it was no sooner formed than suppressed.
General Vives magnified its importance, and he
attained his object — rewards and honours, a title
of Castille, "the Conde de Cuba."
72 STATE OF PARTIES IN CUBA.
In 1825, Mexico and Colombia prepared an
expedition against, the island of Cuba. The
English Government intimated to the former
that the expedition would be displeasing to it.
Mr. Canning was then minister. The intended
expedition was consequently relinquished, not-
withstanding the revenues of Cuba were then
devoted to the war against their States, and a
Spanish fleet was preparing in the Havana for an
attack on those republics. Mr, Canniry's inters
ference teas a great calamity to the British West
Indian colonies.
General Tacon, for similar reasons to those of
General Vives, found it necessary to give undue
importance to an event at San Jago de Cuba,
which was neither a tumult, a rebellion, or a
movement, but simply a hasty, ill-considered act
of the governor of that province, in which no
other individual was implicated. General Lo-
renzo, on the arrival of the brig Guadaloupe at
Cuba, from Cadiz, received the intelligence of the
adoption, in the Peninsula, of the Constitution of
1812 by the Queen, which was detailed in a
gazette of Madrid that came by that vessel. He
had no doubt of the establishment of the Constitu-
tion, as heretofore, being intended for the island
of Cuba, for up to this time the colony followed the
fortunes of the mother country in her constitu-
tional changes, and he could not have imagined
that in the seventh crisis the Cortes would have
decreed special or separate laws for this colony.
Under this idea, Lorenzo proclaimed the Consti*
tution of 1812 in his province, and obliged the
STATE OF PARTIES IN CUBA. 73
authorities to swear to it. The error was General
Lorenzo's, to establish a new law which had not
been communicated to him by his Government.
The people of Cuba were not answerable for it;
it was their part to obey their governor as the
legitimate authority.
During the three months the Constitution
lasted at San Jago, no disorder whatever oc-
curred. Tacon being informed of this event,
first tried pacific means ; but, before he gave them
a fair trial, he had recourse to arms, to bring back
things to their old state. He fitted out an expe-
dition of 3,000 men, which was ultimately, and
after great difficulty, despatched, and was wholly
unnecessary. Both governors informed the su-
preme Government of the measures they had
taken, and each expected the determination of the
Queen in this grave matter. In three months'
time the determination came, and it was such as
General Tacon desired — disapproving of the
conduct of Lorenzo, and ordering that things
should return to their old state, as they were
before the Constitution.
The Spanish Government regards this colony
as its property; most probably it thinks the
smallest quantity of liberty it can give to Cuba,
the greater quantity of money it can take from it.
Cuba produces a revenue of fi'om ten to fifteen
millions of dollars; of this amount,upwards of three
millions are remitted to Madrid, and these three
millions of taxes are paid by a class not exceeding
four hundred thousand inhabitants, of free persons
of all complexions. The levy of a contribution can
E
74 STATE OF PABTIBS IN CUBA.
only be effected by a despotic goyernment. Now
it is only since the year 1825 that money began
to be remitted to Madrid — when extraordinary
powers were conferred on the governor and in-
tendant, one with the view of increasing the
powers of protection of the island, the other with
that of promoting the productiveness of the
island, the Government being weary of hearing
pompous accounts of the opulence of Cuba and
deriving no profit from it; and from that time
the conduct of governors towards the people of
Cuba has taken altogether a new turn.
At the arrival of General Tacon, Cuba pre-
sented a frightful picture of social disorder in the
streets and higliways ; robbery and assassinations
were committed with scandalous impunity. The
well disposed received him as a reformer, when
they saw the firmness with which he restrained
the public malefactors. The preservation of
order required the exercise of strong power to
remedy such great evils. The political opinions
of the proprietary mass, which is omnipotent in
this island, had little wish for innovations. It
feared the various phases which the revolution of
the mother country presented ; and it is highly
probable that the firmness of Tacon, exercised
with sobriety and prudence, would have prepared
the country for other reforms, without outraging
all sober opinions. The principal objects to
which Tacon's energies were directed were the
following : —
1. The prevention and punishment of robbery
and assassination.
8TATB OF PARTI£S IN CUBA. 75
2. The detection and imprisonment of foment^rs
of law-saits (picapleitas).
3. The prosecution of vagrants.
4. The prohibition to carry arms.
5. The destruction of dogs in the streets.
6. The cleansing and macadamising of the
principal thoroughfares. •
7. The construction of sewers, slaughter-
houses, &c.
8. llie formation of a body of firemen.
9. The building of a fish market — of two other
markets for butchers' meat and vegetables — of a
prison— a theatre — the formation of a military
promenade — and a public square — " El Campo
de Martes."
10. and lastly. The putting down of every
movement that tended towards liberalism in any
shape, and — as he held liberalism^-towards inde-
pendence.
If these attempts were successful, even during
the four years of his administration, it must be
admitted there was evidence in them of zeal,
courage, and patriotiam ; and his worst enemies
must acknowledge, though he might not be a
long-sighted statesman, a mild governor, or a
liberal politician, he was, nevertheless, an extra-
ordinary man, as governors go in this colony.
The number deported in General Tacon's ad-
ministration of the government of Cuba, from
June, 1837, to April, 1839, was 190; of these, 67
were officers, 88 private soldiers, 36 private indi-
viduals : all the above were sent to Spain. Be-
sides these, there were 720 persons transported
E 2
76 STATE OF PARTIBS IK 0X7BA.
under sentence of banishment for life, ^* a presidio
en ultra mar/' condenmed by the tribunals : 143
of these were military ; the remaining 677 were
private persons, chiefly people of colour. This
statement is taken from an official document of
the tribunal of accounts — "Tribunal das Cuen-
tes," — signed by the intendente, and is dated 24th
May, 1838.
The cost of the deportation of the 190 was
14,760 dollars ; that of the transportation, 720,
was 28,406 dollars.
The first person of distinction deported by
Tacon was Senhor Saco — one of the most popu-
lar and enlightened of the natives of Cuba, or
Creoles. The next person was the Marquis of
Casa Calvo, charged with gaming and other dis*
orders (juegos y otros desordines.) The occur-
rence which gave rise to this accusation hap-
pened at a ball, attended by the principid
gentry and nobility of the Havana, on the 28th
November, 1836, at a country seat, the Granja,
where the Marquis happened to be with his two
daughters, — one, the Marquesita de Arcos. The
Marquis died in Madrid, in exile^ the 24th Octo-
ber, 1837. D. J. Garcia was banished for having
stated "that the Constitution, sooner or later,
would be adopted in Cuba." Ten or twelve per-
sons were seized and imprisoned in October, 1837,
on a charge of conspiring to assassinate General
Tacon, based on an anonymous letter. Eight of
the prisoners, after a confinement of nine months^
were set at liberty by Tacon's successor. General
Espeleta, their innocence of the charge being
8TATB OF PABTIBS IN CUBA. 77
dearly proyed. That of the other three was ao
less evident, but, for appearance sake, they were
still kept in prison. Three of the liberated
prisoners had paid 613 dollars for gaol-rent during
their confinement. The prisoners were all trades-
men, and their imprisonment brought ruin on
their families.
The Italian singers were likewise frequently
•objected to imprisonment, and sometimes to
banishment. The famous tenor, Montresor, for
haying afironted Madame Pantanelli, was put in
solitary confinement for a fortnight Don Oayi-
chi, a famous violin player, was banished in 1837,
for having quarrelled with the treasurer of the
theatre, and attempting to get up a separate
musical entertainment on his own account. The
prison, in which these persons were confined, had
been constructed by Tacon, at an enormous ez-
In that part of the gaol called the Oallera, vast
multitudes of prisoners, of all grades of crime,
and the innocent as well as the guilty, were hud-
dled together in one long gallery. No regular
chaise for gaol-rent was made ; but any prisoner,
who had the means of paying for better accom-
modation, could, for six reals a day, obtain the
privil^e of being confined in what was called
the ^ Sala de distinccion."
In this prison, the sole object of incarceration
was to secure the persons of culprits, or those
eharged with crime, without the slightest care or
superintendence calculated to reform, to humanise,
pr to improve. Having firequently visited aji
78 STATB OF PABTIBS tS CUBA.
Englishman confined in this prison, I had ample
opportunities of witnessing scenes of disorder and
horror, unparalleled, I believe, in any other prison.
Senor Tanco, in one of hb letters, truly styles it^
^^un infiemo de immoraUdad." The only ap*
pearance of any attention to the comfort <xr
reform of the unfortunate vnretches here crammed
together, was the fitting up a chapel, and the ap-
pointment of a chaplain, for the weekly celebra*
tion of Divine service in it. But, on inquiring of
one of the prisoners if the service was regularly
performed, or if he often had seen the chaplain,
the reply was, that he had never seen the chaplain,
or known any religious service performed in the
prison.
The fact is, Tacon's object in building this gaol
was to rid the Government House of the fomes of
pestilence, which were engendered in the dungeons
of that palace over which he lived.
The 28th December, 1838, 1 visited this prison,
accompanied by Mr. TurnbuU. The alcadi said,
the number of prisoners, when Tacon left the
island, was 1016 ; now, the number was 860, of
whom 300 were negroes. When we came to the
^' Infiemo," as the place called the Gallera has
been appropriately named, and spoke of entering,
the gaoler said — " No one goes in there for
pleasure, nor without a good look-out for his life,
and a knife in his side-pocket, and pistols like-
wise/' He. mentioned cases of murder com-
mitted by these unfortunate wretches on one
another. Indeed, they looked more like encaged
wild beasts, than human beings placed und^
8TATB OF PARTIJ^S IN CUBA. 79
legitimate restraint. We were told by the
alcadi of a negro haying been hanged in the
Gallera, who was confined with five other
prisoners, whose master was assassinated at
Tabasti. This negro either was innocent of the
crime, and knew the criminality of his com?
panions, or was a sharer in their guilt and was
likely to confess it ; and his accomplices got thus
rid of him with impunity, in a crowded receptacle
of criminals, and the yictims of that portion of
Cuban crime that was outside thq prison walls.
The miserable, sickly, pining look of want,
wretchedness, and despair of those unfortunate
beings, who unable to pay the six reals a day for
the privilege of separate confinement, had long
been in this place of horrors — and, being poor and
friendless, had no means to satisfy the harpies of
the law, no bribes to give judges and scrivanos,
and avogados, to expedite their processes, — ^was
lamentable to witness. Of the prisoners in
chains, who were daily put on public works,
there were two classes, separately confined and
worked; one usually on the public roads and
streets, the other on public buildings, for lighter
offences, and with lighter chains and under less
severe control. This was the only approach I
saw to classification, except with tespect to th6
sexes; the women were separately confined, and
also the debtors, who were imprisoned in that
part of the gaol called the Sala de distinccion.
There is, moreover, a yard in this prison, in which
there are eight or ten solitary cells, of the smallest
dimensions, in which persons, on account of poli«
80 STATE OF PARTIES IN CUBA.
tical offences, ordered to be kept '^ incommiini-
cados/' in Tacon's time were usually confiued^and
seldom were kept untenanted.
Tacon built the prison, whose horrors I have
been describing, with the proceeds of the illegal
sales of the emancipated negroes, with whose
protection, as governor, he was specially charged.
Belmonte, in relation to his acts with respect to
the unfortunate emancipados, truly said, "8e
levanten Carceles con el precio de la libertad de
los negros emancipados."
During my residence in Cuba, I never knew
any salutary effort that was calculated to produce
permanent effects made by the Government for
the improvement of public morals, the protection
of the unfortunate slaves, the promotion of the
interests of religion, the removal of its scandals,
or the repression of abuses on the part of its
unworthy ministers.
Tacon left the colony a kind of civilisation of
stone and mortar — a military pasco, public
markets, a gaol, &c., &c.*
From Augustus to Napoleon, all despots have
made themselves architects, to fool the people and
use them to tyranny.
Tacon detested vulgar vice, and the disorders
dependant on political relaxation. He occa-
sionally favoured the labouring classes, and had
notions (in some matters), that did not clash with
his interests, eminently just. When he attacked,
he set on rich and poor, noble and plebeian, with-
* Letters on the State of Cuba, dated 28th April, 1838, ngo/od
"ImpardaL"
STATE OF PARTIES IN CUBA. 81
ont troubling himself about precedents or condi-
: lions, but still in an illegal and ill-conditioned
manner. His government wanted that agra dulci
policy, with which opinions that are /or the future
should be treated, so long as they do not strike at
present authority ; it wanted, finally, that touch
of humanising influence which enlightened policy
affords to Oovemment with any lasting glory and
iidTantage.
In the reigns of Ferdinand VI. and Charles
III., they called the enemies of the Inquisition,
Jansausts and unbelieyers ; in Cuba, the Creoles
are called Independents, and the natives of Spain
fanatic Liberals (Liberales exaltados), unless
when they manifest sentiments in accordance with
arbitrary power.
e3
82
CHAPTER IV.
AMERICAN INFLUENCE IN CUBA AND TEXIAN POLICT.
The white people of Cuba haying found their
commercial interests not only benefited by inti-
mate relations with the Americans, but their
slaye-owning interests apparently identified with
those of the planters of the United States, they
encouraged the latter to settle amongst them —
Buffered not their national prejudices to stand in
the way of those interests — nor the ancient exclu«-
sive laws and prescriptive ordinances of the
country to be raked up for preventing the esta-
blishment of foreigners amongst them.
In 1779, the Spanish Government had so far
favoured the North American merchants, exclu-
sively, as to issue a decree authorising them to
receive specie in exchange for their produce, in
times of scarcity of provisions in Cuba. Of late
years, the governors affected to consider this
favour of 1779 as an evidence of a settled policy
of the State, to give peculiar encouragement, not
only to the traders, but to the settlers of the
Union in Cuba.
This indulgence to them was considered a pri-
vilege that made naturalisation in their case justi-
fiable, and it has been accorded to them virtually,
though not nominally, for many years past.
AMERICAN INFLUENCE, ETC. 83
A strange state of things arose from this con-
nivance at the laws which forbade the establish-
ment of foreigners in Cuba : as the latter were
not supposed by the laws to exist, there were no
provisions in them for subjecting strangers to
those imposts to which Spanish subjects were
liable. Consequently, the American settlers were
exempt from a variety of taxes, personal contri-^
butions, and other imposts, which the former had
to pay.
This immunity drew great numbers of settlers
to Cuba from the Southern States of America, so
that some districts on the northern shores of the
island, in the vicinity, especially, of Cardenas and
Matanzas, have more the character of American
than Spanish settlements.
The prosperity of the island has derived no
small advantage from those numerous American
establishments. Improved modes of agriculture,
of fabrication, of conveyance, were introduced by
the Americans. Several railways have been
made. In the course of ten years, no less than
ten have been carried into effect. At the open-
ing of the first, from Havana to Guines, in 1837,
I was present. To American enterprise and
energy, solely, I have reason to know this great
undertaking was indebted. The loan for it was
made in England, but the projectors, the share
jobbers, the engineer, and the overseers, were
Americans. The expense of the Cuban railways,
it is said, has not exceeded 17,000 dollars the
English mile, in round numbers, £3,400 sterling,
while the expense of those of Belgium and Hoi-
84 AMERICAN INFLUENCE IN CUBA,
land is estimated at more than double that
amount.
The substitution in Cuba of the old grinding'
ndll, rudely constructed of wood, by steam-engine
machinery, is also chiefly due to the Americans.
To them, therefore, Cuba is indebted for the various
improvements in the fabrication of sugar, and modes
of conveyance of the produce of its plantations^
which enable the proprietors to compete so success-
fully with those of the English colonies. Cuba,
ever since I knew it, has been slowly but
steadily becoming Americanised.*
It is needless for recent political writers of
Cuba to deny the existence of a strong feeling of
animosity to the niother country, and a longing
desire for separation. From my own intimate
knowledge of these facts I speak of their exist-
ence.
If England could have been induced, in 1837,
to guarantee the island of Cuba from the inter-
vention of any foreign power, the white inha-
bitants were prepared to throw oflF the Spanish
yoke, to undertake the bond fide abolition of the
slave-trade, and to have passed some measures
for the amelioration of slavery. There was then
a Spanish army, nominally of 20,000 men (Spa-
niards), in the island, but the actual number of
native Spaniards in it did not exceed 16.000 men.
* I pestered my superiors witd my opinions on this subject in
1836-7-8-9. " Liberavi animam meam ** might be fsirly said by
me, if the star-spangled banner were floating to-morrow on the
Moro Castie, or flaunting in the breeze at St. Jago de Cuba. In
tht course of «even years a feeling, strongly prevalent in the
colony, in favour of independence, has been changed into a desire
forconneetion with the United States.
AND TEXIAN POLICY. 86
The leading men of the Creoles, or Cuban white
people, had then little apprehension of the result of
an effort for independence. A liberal allotment of
land in the island, for the soldiers who might be
disposed to join the Independent party, it was ex-
pected, was a prospect which would suffice to gain
over the army. The great apprehension that was
entertained was of the slaves, — of their taking ad-
vantage of the revolution to get rid of all the
whites, both Spaniards and Creoles. But the hope
of obtaining any such guarantee as the one referred
to was not likely to be realised, and the appre-
hension of a rising of the slave population gaining
groand the more that time was spent in delibera-
tion, at length all thoughts of independence were
mei^ed in considerations of interests that were
thought of more immediate importance — those,
namely, of life and property.
Spain is indebted to these considerations, and
to these alone, for the retention of the island of
Cuba, ever since the period I have referred to.
It is not to England, now, that the white
natives of Cuba look for aid or countenance in
any future effort for independence. It is to
America that they now turn their eyes, and America
takes good care to respond to the wishes that are
secretly expressed in those regards.
The American Government possibly and pro-
bably takes no direct steps — no official ones, I
mean — through official agency, to hasten the
flinging off the Spanish yoke, and the incorpora-
tion of that island in the Union of its States. But
that the American Government contemplates
86 AMERICAN INFLUENCE IK CUBA,
this event, and looks approvingly on acts of its
citizens in Cuba that are well calculated to pro*
duce this result, there can be no doubt. The
opinion has been most industriously circulated by
Americans in Cuba, that the interests of the
planters of the Southern States of America and
the white people of Cuba, who are proprietors,
are identical, and that no other power but that of
America can long maintain slavery in any part of
the world.
• This is the feeling, I am sorry to say, which
had already begun to gain ground among that
intelligent educated class of Cuban Creoles in
1839, before I left the island, — among that class to
which alone it was possible to look for any liberal
sentiments, or just views, on the subject of slavery
and the slave-trade. All the communications I
have had with natives of Cuba, of the class I refer
to, of late years, in other countries, and in the
present year particularly, then, would lead me to
imagine that the desire to link the fortunes of
Cuba and the United States is now very generally
and strongly felt; and that the annexation of
Texas to the United States will be followed by
that of Cuba to the same country, in the course of
a few years, if slavery does not break down in
the interim in Cuba, or England be not prepared
to prevent the contemplated Texian game of
conquest, and the machinations that are now
pursuing for another annexation in the Gulf of
Mexico. The American Consul in Cuba, Mr.
Trist, does not officially stamp them with the
sanction of his signature and the public seal, as he
AKD TEXIAN POLICY. 87
does the fraudulent papers of the Spanish slave-
trade captains who sail under false colours, and
mth false papers, duly Americanised in his office ;
but he promotes them most industriously and
perseveringly in his private capacity, and his
Americanising policy in Cuba is progressing fast
and surely.*
The annexation of Texas to the United States
was an event of far greater importance to the
interests of Great Britain, than was commonly
supposed in the latter country. It involved the
question of disturbed relations with Mexico and
Cuba, and of an extended influence to American
slavery in those countries, which was calculated
to bear most prejudicially on our West Indian
colonies.
These results seem to have been better under-
stood in the United States than in England.
Dr. Channing, in his letter on this subject,
"to the Honourable Henry Clay,"f says, "A
new and vast market for slaves cannot of course
be opened, without inviting and obtaining a supply
from abroad as well as from this country. The
most solemn treaties, and ships of war lining the
African coast, do not, and cannot, suppress this
infernal traffic, as long as the slaver, freighted
with stolen, chained, and wretched captives, can
* This wily gentleman, Mr. Trist, the late American Consul in
CQba» is the American commissioner in Mexico whose recent
doings have attracted so much European attention. The reader
will notice the Cuban apprenticeship of this American diplomatist
-—the preparatory course of intrigue, to fit him for the State-
swindling diplomacy in Mexico.
t A Letter on the Annexation of Texas, &c., published by
Green, Newgate-street, ip 1839.
88 AMBRICAN INFLUENCE IN CUBA,
obtain a price proportionate to the peril of (he ten*
dertaking.
**The annexation of Texas, I have said, will
extend and perpetuate slaverj. It is fitted and^
etUl more, intended to do so. On this point there
can be no doubt. As far back as the year 1829,
the annexation of Texas was agitated in the
southern and western States ; and it was urged
on the ground of the strength and extension it
would give to the slaveholding interest. In a
series of essays, ascribed to a gentleman now a
senator in Congress, it was maintained, that five
or six slaveholding States would by this measure
be added to the Union ; and he even intimated,
that as many as nine States as large as Kentucky
might be formed within the limits of Texas. In
Virginia, about the same time, calculations wer^
made as to the increased value which would thus hi
given to slaves^ and it was even said, that this ac^
quisition would raise the price fifty peb cent.
Of late, the language on this subject is most
explicit. The great argument for anneacing Texas
is J that it will strengthen ' the peculiar institutions*
of the souths and open a new and vast field for
slavery.
" By this act, slavery will be spread over
regions to which it is now impossible to set limitff.
Texas, I repeat it, is but the first step of aggres-
sions. I trust, indeed, that Providence will beat
back and humble our cupidity and ambition.
But one guilty success is often suffered to be
crowned, as men call it, with greater, in order
that a more awful retribution may at length via-
AND TBXIAN POLICY. 89
dicate the justice of God, and the rights of the
oppressed. Texas, smitten with slavery, will
spread the infection beyond herself. We know
that the tropical regions have been found most
propttions to this pestilence ; nor can we promise
ourselves that its expulsion from them for a
season forbids its return. By annexing Texas,
we may send this scourge to a distance, which, if
now revealed, would appal us, and through these
vast regions every cry of the injured will invoke
wrath on our heads.
** By this act^ slavery will be perpetuated in
the old States as well as spread over new. It is
well known, that the soil of some of the old
States has become exhausted by slave cultivation*
Their neighbourhood to communities which are
flourishing under free labour, forces on them per-
petual arguments for adopting this better system.
They now adhere to slavery, not on account of
the wealth which it extracts from the soil, but
because it furnishes men and women to be sold
in newly settled and more southern districts. It
is by slave-breeding and slave-selling, that these
States subsist. Take away from them a foreign
marketj and slavery would die. Of consequence,
by opening a new market it is prolonged and
invigorated. By annexing Texas, we shall not
only create it where it does not exist, but breathe
pew life into it, where its end seemed to be near.
States which might and ought to throw it off, will
make the multiplication of slaves their great aim
and chief resource.
''Nor is the worst told. As I have before
90 AMERICAN INFLUENCE IN CUBA,
intimated, — and it cannot be too often repeated, —
we shall not only quicken the domestic slave-trade ; —
we shall give a new impulse to the foreign. This
indeed we have pronounced in our laws to be felony ;
but we make our laws cobwebs when we offer to rapa^
eious men strong motives for their violation. Open a
market for slaves in an unsettled country, with a
sweep of sea-coast, and at such a distance from the
seat of ffovemment that laws may be evaded with
impunity, and how can you exclude slaves from
jimerica ? It is well known that cargoes have been
landed in Louisiana. What is to drive them from
Texas ? In incorporating this region with the Union
to make it a slave country, we send the kidnapper to
prowl through the jungles, and to dart, like a beast of
prey, on the defenceless villages of Africa. We
chain the helpless j despairing victims; crowd them
into the fetid, pestilential slave-shy) ; expose them to
the unutterable cruelties of the middle passage, and,
if they survive it, crush them with perpetual
bondage** ....
'' England has a moral interest in this qoes-^
tion. * ^ * England has long made it a part
of her foreign policy to suppress the slave-trade ;
and, of late, a strong public feeling impels the
Government to resist, as far as may be, the ex-
tension of slavery. Can we expect her to be a
passive spectator of a measure, by which her
struggles for years in the cause of humanity, and
some of her strongest national feelings, are to be
withstood ?
'' England is a privileged nation. On one part
of her history she can look with unmixed self-
ANt) TEXIAN POLICY. * 91
respect. With the exception of the promulgation
of Christiamty, I know not a moral effort so glo-
rious, as the long, painful, victorious struggle of
her philanthropists against that concentration of
all horrors, cruelties and crimes — the slave-trade.
Next to this, her recent Emancipation Act is the
most signal expression afforded by our times of
the progress of civilisation and a purer Chris-
tianity. Other nations have won imperishable
honours by heroic struggles for their own rights.
But there was wanting the example of a nation,
espousing with disinterestedness, and amidst great
obstacles, the rights of those who had no claim
but that of a common humanity, — the rights of the
most fallen of the race. Great Britain, loaded
with an unprecedented debt and with a grinding
taxation, contracted a new debt of a hundred
million dollars, to give freedom, not to English-
men, but to the degraded African. This was not
an act of policy, not a work of statesmen. Par-
liament but registered the edict of the people.
The English nation, with one heart and one
voice, under a strong Christian impulse, and
without distinction of rank, sex, party, or reli-
gious names, decreed freedom to the slave. I
know not that history records a national act so
disinterested, so sublime. In the progress of
i^es, England's naval triumphs will shrink into
a more and more narrow space in the records of
our race. This moral triumph will fill a broader,
brighter page, h not England, representing as she
ekes in this case the civilised world, authorised, and
eun bmmd,to remonstrate, in the name of humanity
92 AMERICAN INFLUENCE IN CUBA,
tuid reUgian, against a measure, by which the greai
work for which she has so long toiled is to be inde*
finitely postponed ?
*' But England has a political as well as a moral
interest in this question. By the annexation of
Texas we shall approach her liberated colonies ;
we shall build up a power in her neighbourhood
to which no limits can be prescribed. By adding
Texas to our acquisition of Florida, we shall do
much towards girdling the Gulf of Mexico; and I
doubt not, that some of our politicians will feel as
if our mastery in that sea was sure. The West
Indian Archipelago, in which the European is
regarded as an intruder, will of course be em-
braced in our ever-growing scheme of empire*
In truth, collision with the West Indies will be
the most certain effect of the extension of our
power in that quarter. The example which they
exhibit of African freedom, of the elevation of the
coloured race to the rights of men, is of all in-
fluences most menacing to slavery at the south*
It must grow continually more perilous. These
islands, unless interfered with from abroad, seem
destined to be nurseries of civilisation and freedom
to the African race. The white race must melt
more and more before the coloured, if both are
left to free competition. The Europeans, un*
nerved by the climate^ and forming but a handful
of the population, cannot stand before the African,
who revels in the heat of the tropics, and is to
develop under it all his energies. Will a slave**
holding people, spreading along the shores of the
Mexican Gulf, cultivate friendly sentiments to^
AKO TBltlAN POLICT. 93
wards eommnnities whose whole history will be
a bitter reproach to their institutions, a witness
against their wrongs, and whose ardent sympathies
will be enlisted in the cause of the slaye? Cruel,
ferocious conflicts must grow from this neighbour-
hood of hostile principles, of communities regard-
kig one another with unextinguishable hatred.
All the islands of the Archipelago will have cause
to dread our power; but none so much as the
emancipated. Is it not more than possible, that
wars, haying for an object the subjugation of the
eoloured race, the destruction of this tempting
example of freedom, should spring from the pro-
posed extension of our dominion along the Mexican
Gulf? Can England view our encroachments
without alarm? I know it is thought, that stag-
gering, as she does, under her enormous debt, she
will be slow to engage in war. But other nations
of Europe have islands in the same neighbour-
hood, to induce them to make common cause with
her. Other nations look with jealousy on our
peculiar institutions, and our growing maritime
power. Other nations are unwilling that we
should engross or control the whole commerce of
the Mexican Gulf. We ought to remember, that
diis jealousy is sanctioned by our own example.
It is understood, that at one period of the internal
disorders of Spain, which rendered all her foreign
possessions insecure, we sought, from France and
Great Britain, assurances that they would not pos-
sess themselves of Cuba. Still more, after the
revolt of her colonies from Spain, and after our
recognition of their independence, it was an-
94 AMERICAN INFLUENCE IN CUBA,
nounced to the nations of Europe, in the message
of the President, that we should regard as hostile,
any interference on their part with these new
governments, 'for the purpose of oppressing them,
or controlling their destiny in any other way/ I,
of course, have no communication with foreign
Cabinets ; but I cannot doubt that Great Britai^
has remonstrated against the annexation of Texas
to this country. An English minister would be
unworthy of his office, who should see another State
greedily swallowing up territories in the neighbour^
hood of British colonies, and not strive j by all just
means, to avert the danger"
« The New York Sun," in July, 1847, published
the following article: —
" Cuba under the Flag of the United States.
''When in Havana last winter, we had a con*
sultation with a meeting of the most influential
and wealthy men of that city, upon the union of
Cuba to the United States, and promised to lay
the matter before the people of this country as
soon as the Mexican question had been disposed
of. Mexico, to all intents and purposes, is now in
our possession. All parties in the United States,
and even foreign nations, look upon that question
as settled, so far as conquest and occupation are
concerned, and we now hasten to fulfil our pro-
mise, and that promise must be our apology for
this article. Cuba, by geographical position,
necessity, and right, belongs to the United States;
it may and must be ours.
"The moment has arrived to place it in our
ANB TBXIAN POLICY. 96
hands, and nnder oar flag^ Cuba is in the market
for sale, and we are authorised by parties emi-
nently able to fulfil what they propose to say, that
if the United States will ofier the Spanish govern-
ment one hundred million dollars, Cuba is ours ;
and that, with one week's notice, the whole amount
will be raised and paid over by the inhabitants of
the island. One week is all they ask, if our
GoTemment will only make the ofier for them to
act upon, and which Spain is ready to accept.
This is no yision, but a fixed fact, of which we
have seen and now hold the most undoubted
proofs. The possession of Cuba will complete
our chain of territory, and give us the North
American continent. It is the garden of the
world, the key to the Gulf, and the richest spot of
its size on the face of the earth. From Florida
Point to its north eastern coast is only fifty miles,
bringing the island almost within cannon shot and
sight of the United States. Cuba yields to Spain
an annual revenue of 7,000,000 dollars, besides
supporting 25,000 soldiers, expending at least 'a
million a year upon fortifications, and paying
another million in salaries to civil and military
officers ; in fact, her total revenue to Spain is over
ten millions, which will double, the moment it
colnes under the United States.
" Cuba produces the best sugar, coffee, tobacco,
and tropical firuits, in the world. It has gold and
silver, and the richest copper mines known. Its
harbours, surface of the country, and climate, are
unrivalled; and in less than five years its revenue
would more than pay the entire purchase-money
96 AMERICAN INFLUENCE IN CUBA^
asked by Spain. Cuba must be ours ! Stretching
from Florida to Yucatan, it commands the Gulf
and coast of Mexico. It is larger than Ireland,
nearly as large as all the New England States,
containing 43,500 square miles of the most fertile
soil *under the sun. To us it is indispensable.
We want its harbours for our ships to touch at,
to and from Mexico, for the accommodation of
American and English transatlantic steamers, for
its products and trade, and as the grand key to the
Gulf of Mexico. Give us Cuba, and our posses-
sions are complete. Spain is ready to sell, the
Cubans are waiting for us to make the purchase,
and to come at once into the Union. Let the
thing be done ; we pledge ourselves that the
hundred millions will be forthcoming to meet the
oflTer, and that Cuba will prove the richest conquest
ever made by the United States."
The Pennsylvaniariy a paper that speaks, at
times, almost as much by authority as the Wash^
ington Union^ favours us with the following : —
'"It has long been hinted in certain quarters,
that there is a disposition on the part of the in-
habitants of Cuba to have that island attached
to the United States. We, ourselves, conversed
during last spring with a rich planter at St. Jago,
who declared to us that the reports of this feeling
on the part of his countrymen were well founded;
that, in the vicinity of his home, a majority of the
planters favoured such a disposition of the island
as should speedily bring it within the control,
and under the protection of our republican insti-
tutions."
.97
EDUCATION.
The following details are taken from a very
able statement drawn up by 8. Domingo Del-
monte, a Cuban lawyer of great ability, well
known in Europe for his literary talents and rare
acquirements.
The number of children, white and coloured,
of both sexes, in the island of Cuba, according to
the census of 1827, is calculated at 119,519;
" and of these there remain, beyond a doubt,
more than 104,440 who suffer, in the midst
of the bastard agricultural riches of Cuba, the
same want of primary instruction — the first
element of all true civilisation — that the savages
of Uruguay do, in a barbarous state of so-
ciety."
And yet it is calculated that every white person
in Cuba pays, at the present time, in indirect taxes,
forty dollars a year to the Spanish Government.
An enormous sum, says one of the most popular
Cuban writers, which no other people in the same
circumstances would pay but those of Cuba, who
are " tan mansos," so docile as to submit to any
extent of exaction. " Tan mansos !" tan esclavos,
rather ; so degraded by the reaction of slavery,
so servile in their subjection to the imperial
Government, which upholds slavery for its bene-
fit and theirs, that they are obliged to put up
with any rapacity of their rulers, on account of
the protection they receive from that Govern-
ment.
This state of wide-spread ignorance in Cuba
98 EDUCATION.
is a matter of awful interest for a Govemment,
who must see, in the hundred thousand '* igno-
rantes" aboye mentioned, one hundred thousand
enemies to public order and tranquillity.
In the province of Havana, schools in propor-
tion to the coloured children are one for 790
male children, and one for 4,600 females.
In the province of Principe, the ratio does not
even amount to one school for 7,486 coloured
children of both sexes.
In the province of Cuba, the proportion is one
school for 587 coloured female children, and not
one for males of colour.
The schools of Cuba are generally under the
inspection and control of the patriotic and cecono-
mic societies, the superiors of convents, and some
public bodies.
In the province of the Havana, the number of
inspectors is seventy-six, and they derive their
authority from the captain-general.
The total number of persons employed in
giving primary instruction in the island is esti-
mated at about 417 ; 290 in the province of
Havana, sixty-four in that of Principe, and sixty-
three in that of Cuba.
The elementary books chiefly in use. El Sila-
bario de Noharro (in some), El Silabario de
Olivetta, Lecciones de Historia de Yriarte, his
Fables, Los deberes de Hombre, El Amigo de la
Infaucia de Blanchard, and the Catecismo de
Fleury. In arithmetic, the method of Ituzaeta.
In writing, the English character is generally in
.use. In the more advanced classes, the principles
BDUCATION. 99
of caligraphy, grammar (that of the Royal
Spanish Academy), and geography.
In the Royal College of Carraguao, and that of
St. Carlos at Havana, the higher branches of
education are cnltivated. The College of Car-
raguao, while under the direction of Don Jose de
la Luz (Director del Colegio) promised to accom-
plish it, but when this enlightened man left it, it
did not prosper.
On religious instruction the author says —
" Heretofore, by an extraordinary predilection on
the part of the teachers, the understanding of the
children has been considered of little importance,
and an entire preference has been given to the
memory, to the prejudice of the other powers of
the mind."
Thus, the most important truths of religion are
taught by memory, so that the classes that learned
the doctrine by rote, did little more than go
through ridiculous recitations, in which these
speaking machines innocently profaned the dog-
mas of our belief; while, in their tender minds and
pure hearts, those principles of toleration, of
charity, and honour, with which the Divine
wisdom embellished the body of the Christian
doctrine, are not sought to be implanted.
In the country parts the most profound igno-
rance reigns; the master and the servant, the
agricultural people, " campecinos," of all sorts
are equally in ignorance of the first elements of
instruction.
By the data (says the author) procured by the
Committee of Education of Havana, to ascertain
p2
100 EDUCATION.
the proportion in which were the criminals of all
the island, with those who could read and write,
the greater part of the criminals were found to be
agricultural people (campecinos).
'' Observandose constantemente que los mas
criminales son siempre los mas ignorantes, por
que tambien son los mas miserables :" constantly
observing that the greatest criminals were inva-
riably the most ignorant, and also the most
wretched in their circumstances.
The overseers on the estates, " los mayor
domos de los ingenios," who have to keep the
accounts of the produce, are all either strangers
or natives of Havana, St. Jago, or Puerta Prin-
cipe, where alone sufficient instruction for their
employment could be acquired. " Ninguno se en-
cuentra que sea nacido y creado en el Campo,
porque todavia la instruction que se da en sus
escuelas no es sufficiente a formar independiente
*" de esta classe ' Catalafia.' "
Cost of Primary Instruction in Cuba.^Island of Cuba.
1 . By private persons, for the education of
their children 470,664
2. Voluntary subscription 8,484
, 3. Imposition of taxes 3,987
4. (Economic Societies 940
5. Royal Treasury 19,820
6. Corporate Bodies (Ayuntamientos) . . . 3,237
7. Dos Greraios de Mareantes 562
Dollars 607,694
From which it results, that of the 8,442 chil-
dren of both sexes^>«^lMk^ttend schools in the
SDUCATION. IW
ijdand, 812 pay for their instruction 470,664
dollars annually, or about ninety-eight dollars for
each a year : 2,295 pay 37,030 dollars, or about
fourteen dollars a year for each ; and 1,035 are
taught gratis by the same teachers.
The remedy proposed by the author for this
state of things is the establishment of Normal
Schools by the Government, to be placed under
the direction of a " Junta de direction," a body of
directors — the first step to the establishment of a
Normal School for instruction for teachers in
each of the three provinces of the island ; and on
this subject the Senhor de la Luz, in his treatise
on the Institute Cubana, speaks thus: —
" If, in more cultivated nations, it is thought
indispensable for the advancement of education,
to found not only classes, but especial schools, for
the instruction of masters in the art of teaching
and practice, how much more so in our growing
country, in order to reform, from infancy, th^
morals of a people, peculiarmente contaminados
por la atmosfera de esclavitud en que nacemos,
vivimos, y morimos."
The service of slaves as domestics in the Normal
Schools to be prohibited. " Primary instruction
(says the author) signifies nothing in morality,
when it is not directly applied to the discipline of
the feelings and afiections of the soul, no less
than to the cultivation of the mental powers."
How is this discipline to be undergone, he goes
on to ask — if the contaminating influence of
familiar communication with servants in general,
in other countries, denounced by Locke and
102 BDVCATION.
Rousseau, is permitted, for how much more is it to
be apprehended from servants who are slaves?
** The man (he continues) who is bom and bred a
slave, be he of what colour or race he may, finds
himself in the precise condition which leads to
the ruin and stupefaction of his moral qualities ;
and those defects of his are as inseparable from
his condition, as light is from the sun, and
the tendency of falling bodies as regards the
centre."
For the honour of human nature, for certain,
some noble exceptions are found to this rule ; but
they do not vary it, because this would be to over-
turn the admirable order that Providence has put
in the government of the world. It is to be
observed, in considering this irrevocable law, that
if the slave, in the debasement of slavery, falls
into the lowest depths of mental degradation, no
less does the soul of the master suffer from the
^exercise of his absolute dominion, — for the gene-
rality become arrogant, vain-glorious, and even
to glorying in shame. Sensual and concupiscent
in the extreme, they love dissoluteness and de*
grading pursuits ; the swaggering tavern-hunter
always shows the limits of the understanding
of the reckless proprietor of slaves." There is
no remedy where there is domestic slavery ; there
is no morality, neither in the servant nor in the
master — " ni en el servo, ni en el senhor."
" Thus it is, for thus things are ; it only remaiiis
but to regard this truth, eternal and unchangeable
as all other truths, moral and physical,in conjunction
with the miserable momentary interests of men."
EDUCATION. 103
The attendance of slaves in the public schools
as servants is denounced in the strongest terms.
** Per lo tanto pues no consentamos en manera
ninguna en las escuelas del Gobierno la peste de
la esclavitud de este tifus, peor que el de 1* Asia
que infesta y corrompa con su letal influso cuanto
toca." Slavery, indeed, in Cuba is, as Delmonte
bas truly described it, *^ a pestilence worse than
tibiat of Asia, which infects and contaminates every
thing it touches."
The author's means of carrying his views for
public education into execution are — by the im-
provement of the existing revenues of the schools,
the assistance of the Treasury, and the application
of the eleemosynary funds bequeathed for masses
and festivals, benefices not collated, and incidental
suppression of convents. It appears, from a work
cited by the author, that there is a vast revenue
in ecclesiastical lands left for pious uses. '^ Misas,
fietas, de Santos y objectos del Culto."
The author asks, ^^ Que inconveniente habria
en solicitar del Supremo Gobierno la autoriza-
eion para percibir los reditos de estos caudales
y destinarlos al costa de la ensenanzo?" What
objection could there be to solicit the supreme
Government to authorise the interest on those
capitals being collected for, and applied to,
public instruction? And to this he answers,
with some sophistry, *' It would not prejudice
at all the original intentions, nor in the slightest
degree interfere with the right of property ; on
the contrary, the intention of the testators would
be . more rationally fulfilled, making with their
104 BDUCATION.
bounty the most noble and charitable of all uses,
more so than they themselves, in the retarded
intelligence of their times, could conceive or ima-
gme.
He denies the intention of interfering with the
property of the Church in any manner used for
the service, or even the pomp of the great festi-
vities of the Church, but he adds, " Doloroso es
confessarlo, si en alguno Provincia de la Monar-
quia Espanola, hay que acudir con evangelica
presteza a atapar los estagos de la impietad y de
la disolucion de costumbres, es en esta Isla da
Cuba, en donde son muy contados principalmente
en los Campos los que creen en la existencia de
Dios y en la immortalidad del alma. Muchas
son las causas que han reducido a este pueblo a
semejante estado de embrutimiento moral ; pero
es la principal y mas transcendente, la falta de
cultivo, en que desde tiempo immemorial han
permanecido las potencias de su alma : Siempre
le ha faltada la escuela da primeras letras, y casi
spirituale de la Iglesia Parroquial. Nuestros
Curas no accustumhran predicar el JSvangelio a sus
feligres ni depalabra ni de obra : no es estrafia que
hombres salvaticos rodeados de esclavos sin bueno
consejo que seguir, ni bueno, esempio que imitar,
se encuentran baldios para el vicio, y se entreguien
malignos, irreligiosos y ignorantes ; muchos hom-
bres hay y muchas mugeres en los Campos de la
Isla de Cuba que despues que se bantizan no
vuelven a entrar en una Iglesia hasta que se
Casan ; y miles que ni aun per esto rito acuden
al temploy por que viven todo su vida, en asquer-
BDUCATION. 106
roso contabemio, negando con insolente desvario
la necessitad de consagrar su Union."
It is sad to have to confess, if there is in any
province of the Spanish monarchy an evangelical
eflTort to be made to arrest the progress of im-
piety and dissoluteness of morals, it is in Cuba,
and principally in the rural districts, where
there are very few who believe in the existence
of God and in the immortality of the soul. Many
are the causes which have reduced this people to
a similar condition of moral degradation; the
principal cause is the want of instruction, lay and
spiritual, which they have suffered, from the
earliest period of Spanish rule. Our clergy are
not wont to preach the Gospel to their flocks,
neUher by word nor work. It is not surprising
that brutal men, surrounded by slaves, without
good counsel or example, become emboldened in
vice, evil-minded, impious and besotted, and given
to all kinds of excesses.
There are many men and many women in the
island of Cuba, who, since they were baptised,
have never entered a church until they went there
to get married ; and thousands who, even for this
rite, are strangers to a place of worship, but who
live all their lives in scandalous concubinage,
denying with insolent audacity the necessity of
consecrating the union they have made by any
religious ceremony.
This frightful picture of Cuban society, and of
the state of religion in Cuba, by Senhor Del-
monte, is not exaggerated ; on the contrary, it
conveys a very inadequate idea of the deplorable
F 3
106 EDUCATIOK.
gtate of religion and of society in the island of
Cuba.
The state of literature in Cuba, or rather in the
Havana, has nerer been equalled, nor approached,
in the West Indian colonies of England or
France.
The white inhabitants have sought to accom-
plish, for the press, what they did for trade, in
1818, in spite of the laws, and they have been
marvellously successful.
From 1836 to 1839, they contrived to steal a
march on the authorities, to circumvent, to defeat
the vigilance, to resist the violence, and to wear
out the energies of a triple censorship.
I watched with no small interest the course of
this war of mind with a crazy despotism, clinging
to ignorance as to its chief hold on the loyalty of
the people of this colony.
Small papers made their appearance from time
to time, first professedly to publish accounts of
markets, arrivals and departures of vessels, tide
tables, decrees, and ordinances ; and then a little
political news crept in; small feuilletons were
attempted, Creole questions were glanced at,
doubtful allusions made to the disadvantage of the
slave-trade; and, occasionally, the governor's
assessors stirred, then the editors drew in their
horns for a brief space, and put them out again
when their appearance was least expected.
Two scientific societies regularly published their
proceedings. The " Memorias de la Sociedad,"
published monthly, contain a mass of informa-
tion, industrial and literary, of the highest value.
BDUCATION. 107
There are now five or six daily papers published
in the Hayana, and one, the J^oro Industrial^ is
superior, in size and matter, to any daily journal
in the capital of Spain.
The most eminent literary men of Cuba are
lawyers. Amongst these, pre-eminent for ability
and worth, in my time, were Senhors Jose de la
Luz and Domingo Delmonte.
The former was the principal of the College of
Carraguao ; from it the most distinguished men in
Cuban literature, in politics, and in philosophy,
have come out. All that was possible for the
Glovernment to do, to hinder the progress of this
College and that of San Fernando, was done by
it. They were supposed by it to be prejudicial to
the interests of the Spanish Universities, and of
the State. A tax was put on the diplomas of
those colleges, which it was thought would have
prevented young men from graduating in them.
The price of a diploma was fixed by law at 500
piastres, or £100 sterling. Havana, however,
continues to have its two colleges flourishing ; its
thirty chairs, embracing professorships of all the
arts and sciences ; its various literary societies, its
museum, its academies, and its scholars and
literati, men truly deserving of that name.
Cuba has produced several lyric writers of con-
siderable merit. Some pieces of Delmonte,
Valdes, and Parma are not surpassed by any
modem Spanish poets: those, especially, of the
ill-fated mulatto, Placido,* for their spirit and
* Pladdo was one of the many innocent men of his caste whom
the sanguinary O'Donnell shed the blood of, after the suppression
106 CONNECTION OF RELIGION
originality, are perbaps superior to the other bard
of his name and race, still living, some of whose
admirable poems, written while in slavery, have
been rendered into English verse.
In philosophy, De la Luz takes the highest
rank; in history, Sagra; in miscellaneous lite-
rature, Arma, Delmonte and Saco. To the two
last, especially, Cuba is indebted for a number of
treatises, published at various times during the
last twelve years, advocating the abolition of the
slave-trade and the substitution of free for slave
labour. Those efforts have not been altogether
vain. A Society has been formed for the encou-
ragement of immigration of white labourers from
the Canaries, and other places. This Society
awarded, in 1844-5-6, a sum of 12,000 dollars to
the first three proprietors who established a village
of fifty white families, and 20,000 dollars for tbe
production of 45,000 arobas of refined sugar by
free labour.
RELIGION, AND THE EVILS OF ITS CONNECTION
WITH THE STATE IN CUBA.
The state of religion in this island is most
deplorable. Slavery, that contaminates every
thing it touches, has not spared even the Church,
or its ministers, in Cuba.
The clergy, in every slaveholding country that
I have known, are incapable of exercising their
ministry with advantage or effect.
of the revolt of the slaves in 1843. His innocence was weU
known to the most respectable people of Matanzas, but it weighed
little with a military tribunal.
WITH THB STATE IN CUBA. 109
The Government would not suflfer them to do so.
The slaveholders would persecute and discredit
them with the authorities, if they dared to do
their duty as ministers of religion, preachers and
teachers of justice, mercy, and purity of life. Woe
betide the priest who should dare to admonish his
flock to abstain from buying, or bidding for, those
slaves on the Lord's day ! Woe betide the priest
who should be so forgetful of the tender mercies of
a captain-general, and so remindful of his duties
to his God, as to exhort his flock to be obedient to
the law of the land, that forbade the crime of the
slave-trade! Woe betide the confessor, who might
be so fearless of banishment, or so indifferent to
the vengeance of authority, as to counsel a penitent
in high office, who sold his connivance at slave-
trading crimes, by the cargo, for ten dollars
for every stolen man — to give the bribes he had
received to the poor, and their rights to the robbed!
Woe betide the priest, who thought so much of
the people, and so little of an intendant's power,
as to enjoin his parishioners to refrain from gam-
bling in the lottery, or betting in the cock-pit, and
thereby injuring, by his precept, the revenues of
the Crown. I have asked priests, who were not
lost to every sense of Christian duty, why they did
not do some of these things, and the answer was —
either, a shrug, or a look towards heaven, or a
mournful admission that they dare not do their
duty ; nay, one of them, a parish priest, referring to
the subject of the partition of the fees for adminis-
tering the sacraments that go to the State, said
to me, in a tone which I cannot easily forget, and
110 CONNECTION OF RBLIOION
with all the solemnity of a man inwardly moTed
and grieved in his spirit : — *^The system is so bad,
that the very ministers at the altar must sell the .
holy things for money."
The royal hankering after Church Property, and
the practice of providing for the needy nobility out
of the funds set apart for the service of religion,
have been indulged even in providing, still more
amply in late years, out of those funds, for the titled
beggars of the Spanish court. The pension for
the Royal Order of Charles the Third was partly
secured, by its august founder, by an assignment
of 40,000 dollars on the tithe revenues of the
cathedrals of the Indies ; the amount levied on
that part of the Havana being 2,600 dollars—
1,000 on the Mitre, and 1,500 on the Dean and
Chapter.
The order of the Jesuits was extinguished in
the Havana in 1767. The sale of their tempo-
ralities immediately followed. The property of
this church sold for 30,000 dollars ; the college
for 26,900 ; and their other effects for 303,000
dollars — which went to Spain, to be applied to-
wards the payment of the national debt, Alto-
gether,church property contributes to the treasury
133,212 dollars a year — a sum equivalent to twenty
per cent, on the tithes and other church revenues.
The Roman Catholic religion has grievously
suffered from its alliance with the kings and courts
of Spain. I very much question, if the spoliation of
the monasteries, in the time of Henry the Eighth,
was so prejudicial to it as the constant rapacity,
under the mask of piety, and under the pretext of
WITH THE STATS IN CUBA. 11)
protection, that has inyariably marked the course
of the *< Defiance" of the Church, on the part of
the kings of Spain, for centuries past. Surely,
no church ever suffered more from the contami-
nating influeiice of court protection ; surely, the
character of religion, and its ministers, never was
so degraded in this world as it has been in Cuba,
by this unholy influence — so far, I mean, as it is
in the power of politics to degrade the ministry,
or to relax the discipline of the Church ! But, if
there were anything higher than religion, such is
the heart's-core corruption of Spanish authority,
it would endeavour to profane its purity, and to
contaminate its truth. From all that I have seen,
I cannot conceive any species of hostility directed
i^ainst the Roman Catholic religion, so replete
with mischief, so scandalous and openly injurious
to it, as the Spanish State alliance with the Church
is to the ministers of the Gospel, and to the morals
of the people of the island of Cuba.
Would to God that the money of the Church
was all that the rapacity of the State deprived
religion of! It is the corruption of the State, and
the power of it over the church's ministers, which
forbids the pastors to preach against wickedness
in high places, and compels them to cry out —
** there is peace, when there is no peace." Let
the reader peruse such an advertisement as I have
now under my eyes, extracted from one of the
daily papers of the Havana, and there he will find
the archbishop, in condescension to the Spanish
authority, compelled to give the sanction of his
name, and of his office, to the scenes of riot and
1 12 TITHBS.
debauchery that mark the orgies of a public
masquerade ball in the theatre of Havana — on a
Sunday night, and in the penitential season of
Lent. Let the reader, if he doubts the influence
of that most unholy Spanish alliance of Church
and State, peruse an advertisement now before
me, in another Diaro of the present year,
and there he will find a sale, by authority, of
human beings, duly advertised for the following
Sunday, *^ during the celebration of mass^ before the
church doors,^*
TITHES.
Taken from the " Historia Economiea " of Sagra.
By an apostolical brief of Adrian VI., 20th
April, 1512, tithes were established in the island
of Cuba. In conformity with the bull of Pius
VI., 10th September, 1787, the king, by his
cedula of the 19th July, 1788, ordained the divi-
sion of the island into the bishoprics of Cuba and
Havana; and, in 1793, the archbishop of San
Domingo was appointed metropolitan archbishop
of the latter diocese.
From that period the tithe revenues diminished
considerably, but even from 1804 they began to
decline, in consequence of the royal decrees con-
ferring the privilege of exemption from tithes on
sugar and coffee, on the plantations established
subsequent to that year. The cost of collection
to the farmers of the tithes cannot be estimated at
less than twenty-five per cent. Of the gross
proceeds of all the tithes of the island, the follow-
ing distribution is made.
TITHES. 113
A ninth part goes to the royal treasury,
under the name of " Noveno de Consolidacion."
The remaining eight ninths are distributed in
four equal parts; one part goes to the bishop,
another to the cabildo, the chapter, and the two
remaining parts are again subdivided in ninths or
novenos, of which two more novenos go to the
royal treasury, under the denomination of novenos
reales, one and a half more to the parish hospitals,
and the other four novenos to church benefices.
This robbery of church funds was not the
sacrilege of a modern constitutional sovereign,
but of the old sovereigns of Spain, who are pre-
eminently called "Defenders of the Faith," and
have about as good a claim to the title as our
own Defensor Fidei, Henry VIII. himself. Never
did a Church suflfer so much from the protection
of the St-ate as that of Cuba.
114
CHAPTER V.
CONDITION OP SLAVES IN CUBA.*
In the Report preseirted by Mons. A. de Tocque-
ville to the Chamber of Deputies, on the 23rd
of July, 1839, in the name of the Commission
charged with the examination of the proposition
relative to the slaves of the French colonies, I
find a very important error, and one not only pre-
valent in France, but in this country also, on the
subject of the treatment of negroes held in bond-
age in the Spanish colonies, which, if allowed to
pass uncontradicted, might hereafter expose that
valuable Report to censure, and lead to the adop-
tion of measures for the nominal amelioration of
slavery in the other colonies, which would
prove abortive. At page 17, of the published
Report, I find it stated, that " it is of public
notoriety in the New World that slavery has
always had with the Spaniards a peculiar cha-
racter of mildness ; one can convince himself of
this in reading over the ordinances made by the
kings of Spain, at an epoch when, amongst the
other nations of Europe, the laws for the govern-
ment of slaves were so strongly tinctured with
barbarity. The Spaniards, who showed them-
* The matter of this chapter was embodied in " An Address
on Slavery in Cuba, delivered at the General Anti^slavery Con-
Tention, by R. R. Madden."
CONDITION OF SLATES IN CUBA. 115
selves so crnel towards the Indians, have always
ruled their slaves with a singular humanity. In
their colonies, the distinction between blacks and
whites was less than in all the others, and the
authority of the owner resembled more that of a
father of a family than of a master. The slave,
better treated in these colonies, sighed less after
liberty, which ought to be preceded by arduous
exertion; hence the legislator accorded him a
right which he very seldom wished to avail him-
self of."
Now, in the above statement, there are six
distinct propositions, and five of them are entirely
erroneous, namely, these : —
L That negro slavery has always had in the
Spanish dominions '' a peculiar character of mild*
ness/'
2. That sufficient proof of such a character
can be fairly drawn from the ordinances of the
kings of Spain for the government of their distinct
colonies.
3. That the Spaniards, who had been such
cruel masters to the Indians, " have always treated
their slaves with singular humanity."
4. That the authority of the master resembles
that of a father of a family.
5. That, in consequence of good and humane
treatment, the slaves have seldom desired to avail
themselves of the privilege of claiming their
freedom by purchase.
And the only statement that is really correct in
the whole passage, is contained in these words —
^^ In these colonies the distinction between blacks
116 CONDITION OF SLAVES IN CUBA.
and whites was less than in all the others," pre-
suming the meaning of the observation to be that,
amongst the Spaniards, the prejudice against the
stolen people of Africa, on account of their com-
plexion, is less than amongst the colonists of other
European States. Such unquestionably is the
fact, and there is too much Moorish blood, in the
veins of the descendants of the old " Conquie-
dadors," for the feeling to be otherwise.
Tolerably well acquainted with some of the
British West Indian islands, — with one of them,
both previously and subsequently to the act of
emancipation, — and having seen something of
slaver J in luany eastern countries, I brought
perhaps some little knowledge of the condition of
men held in slavery to the subject which has been
the object of anxious inquiry with me, during a
residence of upwards of three years in a Spanish
colony where slavery flourishes, and where
upwards of 400,000 human beings exist in that
condition. Perhaps this extensive acquaintance
with slavery in various countries, during the last
ten years, may have qualified me to form some
opinion of the relative evils or advantages of
slavery in a Spanish colony.
The first proposition—" That slavery has al-
ways had with the Spaniards a peculiar character
of mildness," is one that I have seen stated in
books so often, and heard laid down so frequently
by merchants who have resided in Cuba; by
naval officers who have visited the shores and
harbours of that island ; and by transient visitors
who have made tours of pleasure or a winter
CONDITION OF SLAVES IN CUBA. 117
journey, in pursuit of health from one large town
on the coast to another, and seen the interior
economy of one or two estates of opulent pro-
prietors, — what in our colonies would be called
" crack plantations," — that I really feel astonished
at the amount of error that prevails on this sub-
ject — error so great, and held by men entitled to
credit, that I have sometimes felt absolutely
doubtful of the evidence of my own senses ; and
when the irresistible conviction of the excessive
rigour of slavery in Cuba has been forced on my
mind, and when I have dwelt on the appalling
scenes I have witnessed, it often seemed hopeless
to me, and even imprudent for me, to attempt to
disabuse the public mind, and to set my expe-
rience against the opinions of many people, whose
sentiments on any other subject I considered
entitled to respect. But on a question of such
vast importance, and where erroneous sentiments
are calculated to do so much injury to the objects
of the solicitude of anti-slavery exertion, it would
be an act of cowardice to suppress the truth, or
at least one's strong persuasion of it, in deference
to error, however generally diffused or honestly
adhered to, it may be. These erroneous conclu-
sions, that Spanish slavery is of a peculiarly mild
character, are arrived at by four ways of viewing
this question; they may be briefly stated as
follows : —
1. It is concluded, that because the laws for
the government of slaves in the Spanish colonies
are mild, that these laws are executed, and the
slaves are happy.
118 CONDITION OF SLAVES IN CUBA.
2. It is considered by some who visit the large
sea-port towns, that the condition of the prsedial
slaves is similar to that of the domestic servants^
and that because the latter are lazy, well fed, and
decently clad, and lightly worked negroes, the
poor field slaves are likewise idle and indulged,
kindly treated, and contented slaves.
3. The condition of slaves is judged of by men
who have no immediate interest in slavery, but
who have long resided in slave countries, or been
on stations where opportunities of visiting these
colonies have made them acquainted with the pro-
prietors of estates, and in the course of time
familiar with their views, then favourable to their
interests, and at length accustomed to the evils of
slavery, and insensible to the sufferings of its
victims.
4. The treatment of slaves, in general, in Cuba
and elsewhere, is inquired into by transient visitors
and tourists at the tables of the planters, over the
wine of the slaveholders, — and where truth is
drowned in hospitality, and the legitimate inquisi-
tiveness of a stranger's curiosity is merged in a
courteous acquiescence with the sentiments, or at
least the statements of a liberal entertainer, and a
gentlemanlike host.
Now, of these different ways of coming towards
conclusions, it is evident, that it is to the first
the signal error of the French Report is to
be attributed. In fact, it is admitted that the
opinion of the mildness of Spanish slavery is
derived from the royal ordinances and laws made
for the regulation of it. I freely grant that the
CONDITION OF SLAVES IN CUBA. 119
spirit of these laws and ordinances is humane,
but the great question is, are such laws compa*
tible with the interests of the slave-owners ? Are
they put in execution ? Negro slavery, as it ever
has existed in the West Indian colonies, has been
a condition in which the profitableness to the
master of unpaid labour, for the time being, has
always rendered the happiness of the labourer a
question of comparative unimportance. What we
would call humanity to the negro, there is not
a proprietor in Cuba who would not deem
injustice to the planter. We cannot legislate
partially, humanely, and yet efficiently, for any
slave colony in a prosperous condition — we may
pass measures of general effect for the total aboli-
tion of slavery, but we can carry none into
execution for effectually modifying its nature, and
leaving unpaid labour to be wrung out of its
victims, while a show is made of surrounding its
compulsion with humane arrangements, duly
detailed in the royal cedulas, and set forth in
legal books, with all the solemn mockery of Spanish
law.
This Beport states, as a curious anomaly in the
history of Spanish slaves, that while the Indians
were treated by the Spaniards with such terrible
cruelty, the negroes, it is well known, have always
been treated with peculiar mildness. I need
hardly observe, that while the poor Indians were
writhing under the lash of the most unmitigated
cruelty the world up to that period ever saw —
while the Spanish colonists were exterminating the
whole race of their victims by the astounding
120 CONDITION OF SLAVES IN GITBA.
rigour of their slavery — the kings of Spain were
dictating benevolent cedulas and humane ordi-
nances for the treatment of the unfortunate slaves,
while the council of the Indies were continually
framing laws for the better regulation of the "re-
partimientos," or distributions of the natives —
while the heads of the Spanish church, — the mitred
politicians of the day — half statesmen^ ha/f church-
men — were constantly sending out missions and
commissions to co-operate with the illustrious
Apostle of the Indies, the protector of the slaves —
in fact, while all the machinery of the Government
that was four thousand miles off, was brought to
bear on this question of the amelioration of slavery
in the Spanish colonies, yet the Indians perished
in the mines, they died under the lash, sunk under
famine in caves, or sought in voluntary death a
final refuge from Spanish cruelty. Yes, the whole
race perished, while the kings of Spain and its
ministers were framing laws impracticable, be-
cause they were partial, measures of relief, for the
preservation of their Indian subjects.
Let me add, the same terrible system of cruelty
is going on this day in the Spanish colonies —
the same terrible evils are silently in opera-
tion. Change the term Indians for negroes,
the word mines for plantations, and in every other
respect the same bloody tragedy is acting over
again — the same frightful work of extermination,
the same cruel mockery of staying the evil by
laws without enforcement, cedulas without a hope
being entertained of their being carried into effect,
is now practising in New Spain; and the awful
CONDITION OF SLATES IN CUBA. 121
"Waste of human life, that in the time of the Indians
was for a limited period made up by the ravages
of the man-robbers on the coast of the New World,
has now for three centuries been filled up, in Cuba
alone, by an annual importation that has now
reached to the amount of 26,000 stolen men from
the shores of Africa.
If it be notorious, as this Report states, that
negro slaves have always been treated with pecu-
liar mildness in the Spanish colonies, it follows
that the slaves of the island of Cuba, for example,
ere a contented race, and therefore they are not
over-worked, nor under-fed, nor ill-clad ; that the
sexes are equalised, that the mortality is small,
and the increase by bii'ths considerable ; that the
amount of produce obtained by the labour of a
given number of slaves is less than it has been in
former years in the British colonies ; that there
is a considerable number of aged slaves on the
estates; that the pregnant women are allowed
exemption from hard field-labour in the last six
or eight weeks of their pregnancy ; that the females
are not usually flogged ; that the children are in-
structed in the elements of the Christian faith ;
that the negroes on the estates are married by the
ministers of religion ; that they are suffered to
attend a place of worship on the Sabbath day ; that
it is not lawful to hunt them down by dogs when
they are fugitives from the estates ; that when they
are scourged to death, or killed by violence, the
white man who is their murderer may be brought
to justice, and punished with the utmost rigour oi'
the law — but not one of these measures of justice,
G
122 CONDITION OF SLATES IK COTBA.
or means of protection for the prcedial slayes are
known to exist in Cuba — ^not a single one of these
I have pointed oat is to be looked for to the law,
and yet the law allows these pririleges, and so*
lemnly condemns every withdrawal of them. But
the law was never framed with any reasoitable pros*
pect of its being enforced ; it never has been en*
forced, and, what is more, it never can be enforced
against the planters who are the transgressors of
it ; because, in fact, these are the men who are
entrusted with the execution of it»
In the towns and cities, the case is indeed di£»
ferent with the domestie slaves — but what a small
portion do these form of the number of skvee ib
Cuba? These domestic slaves, especially those of
the opulent proprietors, comparing their condition
with that of the preedial slaves, may be said to be
fortunately ciroiimstanced. They have the power^
in the large towns and cities, of availing then^
selves of the privileges the law accords them. If
they have a harsh owner, they may demand per*
mission to seek another master, and it is compul-
sory on that master to sell them, either for the sum
he paid for them, or at such a rate as thesindieo^
or the special protector of the slaves, and the
judges may determine, in consideration of any
reasonable increase in their value, or in conse-
quence of their having been; tau^t a trade or
calling.
But bow is the prsBdial slave to avail himself of
these legal privileges? The officers of justice ia
the country towns are usually slaveholders them-
selves ; the estate may be ten, nay, twenty miles
CONDITION OF SLAVES IK CUBA. 123
distant from a town ; the sindicos, the alcades, the
iMipitanes de partklos, all are planters. The idea
of a preedial slave going to the mayoral, or over-^
seer, and telling him he wants '' a paper" — a per-
tnission for two or three days to seek another
master (bascar-amo)^ would be laughed at in
Cuba ; the unfortunate negro who would make so
daring an attempt to obtain his rights, would, in
all probability, be flogged on the spot. He dare
not leave the estate to seek the sindico in any ad-
joining town ; and, no matter what injustice may
be done him, were he to pass his master's gate, he
would be subjected to punishment, '' boca abajo,"
without appeal, as a fugitive ; and if he still pre-
sumed to talk of the law, and to insist on being
taken before a magistrate to claim the privileges
which that law gave him, he would then be treated
with a degree of rigour " beyond the law," as an
insolent and rebellious slave. But, granting that
lie succeeded in getting to the sindico, the alcade,
c^ the capitane de partido, what chance of justice
has an unfortunate slave in Cuba against the
powerful influence of a rich, and perhaps a titled,
owner ? The planter is the friend of the autho-
rities of his district, they dare not disoblige him,
and if they dared, they are at last to be gained
over by a bribe, or got rid of by a remonstrance
to the governor, and a suitable present to the
assessor of the governor, who is one of the great
law-officers of the Crown. How, in the name of
eommon sense, is the law to be looked to in a
Spanish colony for the mitigation of the evils of
slavery, or the protection of the slave ?
G 2
124 CONDITION OF SLAVES IN CUBA;
The excellence of the Spanish civil law is ad-
mitted by every one, yet the iniquity of Spanish
tribunals, the corruption of Spanish judyes, and the
incomparable villany of Spanish lawyers, is proverbial
in all the colonies of Spain. Justice is bought and
sold in Cuba with as much scandalous publicity as
the Bozal slaves are bought and sold in the barra-
cones.
Is there a man in Cuba, who had suflPered wrong
in property or in person, who would bemad enough
to go for redress into a court of law, and expect
to obtain it by trusting solely to the merits of his
case ? How then are we to expect, from any code
for the regulation of negro slavery, justice for the
Creole who has not the means to buy the judge?
How are we to expect to restrain the cruelty, or
to control the cupidity of men who have the means
to bribe the bench of every tribunal in the land,
to make " impeggnes," as these solicitations are
called, with the sons and servants, the cousins and
the familiars of the judges in their cause? Is it,
then, to cedulas and laws, to parchment justice, or
to statute-book benevolence, we are to look for
that peculiar character of mildness which this
Report assures us is the characteristic of slavery
in Spanish colonies ? Surely, what we know of
slavery in every country where it has existed,
should be sufficient to satisfy every enlightened
person that bondage is an evil that cannot be
mitigated by any partial measures of reform, so
as essentially to serve the slave, to improve the
system, to humanise the master, and thus to
benefit society at large.
CONDITION OF SLAVE8 IN CUBA. 125
But, in Cuba, it is not that I have heard or read
of the atrocities of Spanish slavery, but I saw them
with my own eyes. I lived for a whole year at
the Havana before I could so far disembarrass
myself of the merchant-planter influence of that
place (that deadening influence of slavery which
steals so imperceptibly over the feelings of stran-
gers in the West Indies], as to form an opinion
for myself, and to trust to my own senses alone
for a knowledge of the condition of the prsedial
slaves. It was only when I visited estates not as
a guest of the proprietors, seeing through the eyes
of my hospitable hosts, thinking as they thought,
and believing as they saw fit to administer to my
credulity the customary after-dinner dose of the
■felicity of slaves — it was only when I went alone,
and unknown, and unexpected on their estates,
that the terrible atrocities of Spanish slavery
astounded my senses. I have already said, and I
repeat the words, so terrible were these atrocities,
so murderous the system of slavery, so transcendent
jthe evils I witnessed, over all I had ever heard or
seen of the rigour of slavery elsewhere^ that at first I
could hardly believe the evidence of my senses.
Nay, I have known men of great intelligence, one
in particular, whom it was of great consequence to
have well-informed on this subject, and whom I
myself accompanied over several estates in various
parts of the country; and here in Cuba, so terrible
were the admissions made by the mayorals, or
overseers, on the estates we visited, that he could
not believe he heard correctly the accounts that
were given to us, even by the managers them-
126 CONDITION OF SLAVES IN OtTBA,
Belves, of the frigfatfal rigour of the treatment they
described. Till this gentleman (who is known
as an able writer on Cuban affairs) and myself
made partially known at the Havana the evils that
had come to oar knowledge, on the sugar estates
especially, there were British and other foreign
merchants in that city, who had resided there for
years, who said they were utterly ignorant of these
evils, but like the iramers of this Report, having
read certain laws for the protection of slaves, and
seen certain cedulas for the nominal mitigation of
the cruelties of slavery, they actually imagined
that the laws were enforced, and the negroes
happy and humanely treated.
With respect to my own experience, it is not by
particular instances of cruelty or oppression the
fact is to be established, that slavery in Cuba is
more destructive to human life, more pernicious
to society, degrading to the slave, and debasing to
the master, more fatal to health and happiness
tkan in any other slaveholding country on the face ef
the habitable globe. Instances of cruelty enough,
no doubt, have come to my knowledge-^ of
the murder of negroes, perpetrated with impunity
—of men literally scourged to death — of women
torn from their children, and separated from them
— of estates where an aged negro is not to be
seen — where the females do not form a third part
of the slave population; nay, of estates where
there is not a single female ; of labour in the time
of crop on the sugar properties being twenty con-
tinued hours, frequently for upwards of six months
in the year, seldom or never under five, and of
CX>9I>ITION OF SLATES IN €UBJL 127
the general impression prevailing on this subject,
and generally acted on by the proprietors, that
four hoars' sleep is sufficient for a slave*
These cases, were I to bring them before the
pablic, without a shadow of colouring to heighten
the effect of the naked outline, so frightful a detail,
I am persuaded, would cause people to marvel
that such things could be in a Christian land —
eoold occur in the present age— could be done by
men who moved in society, who are tolerated in
it, and bear the name and wear the garb of gen-
tlemen; by persons, in short, professing the
religion of Christ, and daring to couple the sanc-
tity of that name with rapine, murder, and the
iiving death of slavery itselif, which are carried on
even in its name — for the purpose, forsooth, of
making Christians of African unbelievers.
To understand thoroughly the subject of the
laws in the Spanish colonies for the protection of
slaves, it is necessary to refer to a work not easily
to be met with, being only to be found in the
hands of the syndics, which is entitled, ^' Expo-
sicion sobre el origen, utilidad, prerogativas,
dereeho, y deberes de los sindicos procuradores
generates de los pueblos, por D. Jose Berapio
Majorrietta abogado de la real audiencia." This
lK>ok, it is to be noted, is printed at Puerto Principe,
in Cuba, by royal authority, by command, and at
the expense of the Real Audiencia, the highest
law tribunal in the island, and it is the legal
guide of the syndics, or protectors of slaves, in
the administration of justice between master and
slave over the whole island, and by which they are
128 CONDITION OF SLAVES IN CUBA.
bound to act. The work begins by stating that
the Supreme Court, in the year 1766, created the
office of syndic ; every town was placed under
the legal protection of one of these officers ; its
rights were to be defended by them ; and in the
words of the cedulas, " When there was any
grave or important matter, it should be treated by
them joining themselves with some of the neigh-
bours (juntandose con los vecinos) for the con-
sideration of it." Now, here is a most important
regulation for the due administration of justice;
in fact, one giving to the accused the advantages,
to a certain extent, of a jury.
And now let us see how the law authorities of
Cuba, as represented in this work, interpret these
words. The treatise in question says — "These
words are not to be understood in their literal
sense ; this method is contrary to the nature of
our government, and for this reason, so responr
sible is the post of a syndic, that he is appointed
not by an open meeting (cabildo abierto) of the
corporation (ayuntamiento,) but by the votes of
the judicial body, or the regidores. Their duties in
the rural districts are to watch over the order and
maintenance of the public markets, the prevention
of monopolies in corn, meat, &c., inspecting the
accounts of overseers, agents, &c., protecting the
interests of proprietors of estates before the tri-
bunals of the district, by all the legal privileges
accorded them, even to the point of demanding
the suspension of the royal laws, or ordinances, in
which they may hurt or harm some private
person," (hasta el punto de poder pedir la susr
CONDITION OP 8LAVEI9 IN CUBA. 129
pencion, de las cedulas y reales rescriptos, en qua
de dana sigun particular.)
Behold the value of all the royal laws for the
protection of slaves ! The syndic, their protector, is
likewise the legal defender of their masters ; and
the suspension of every law that is distasteful to the
latter, it is in the power of this oflScer to demand
of the higher tribunals of the law. In fact, the
whole secret of the conduct of the Cuban Govern-
ment, with respect to the fulfilment of the treaties
with England for the suppression of the slave-
trade, and the laws which enforce them, is here
left out, and the shamefuU duplicity of the Govern-
ment of Spain, with respect to these royal orders, is
disclosed, for at page 10 of the treatise in question,
the opinion of the legal authorities of the island is
laid down as to the proper mode of interpretation
of the royal cedulas, when these are opposed to
Creole interests, or supposed to be so, in these
words : — " It has been laid down by his Majesty,
that his sovereign will is (with respect to these
laws) that they be obeyed and not fulfilled ;" and
reference is made to lib. 16, Nov. Recap, (come
se tiene manifestado que su soberana voluntad, es
que se obedezcan y no se cumplan.) This seems
to me to be the very acme, indeed, of public im-
morality ; and there is no reason to doubt the
duplicity of the conduct here ascribed to his
Spanish Majesty, and the weakness of his sove-
reign will, and that he frames laws for the purposes
of delusion, to throw dust in the eyes of foreign
powers, or to deceive his own subjects at home,
laws which are to be obeyed and not executed.
G 3
130 aOMDITXON OF SLAVES UT CUBA.
Now, with respect to the jurisdiction of the
syndics in the case of slaves, and the mode of
interpreting the laws for their defence, this treatise
lays down very minute rules, and points out a
course of proceeding which is universally acted on
in Cuba, for, it is to be remembered, this treatise
is published with the express sanction and appro*
bation of the judges of the highest tribunal of the
land, of the Real Audiencia. ^' It is to be ob*
served," says the author, *' either the rights which
slaves complain of being infringed, are violated
by their masters, or a third person. In the first
ease, their complaint is to be preferred by their
masters, or a third person. In the last case, tbm
complaint is to be preferred by their masters — ^by
the general rules of right, which subjects them
entirely to those who exercise dominion over
them; but if the slaves attempt to complain
{itttentan presentarse) against their masters, then
comes the authority of the syndics, because by no
other mode can there be made a true decision,
there being no legitimate litigation of parties,
which consists in this, that the plaintiff and the
criminal should be different persons. But sup-
posing this distinction to be made in such a case (as
perhaps some one might say it ought to be), it
appears the slave ought to have the right of
naming an attorney or agent (personero)^ and the
law, that so much protects the natural defence of
the slave, should leave in his power the exercise
of this precious right. But bow many inconve*
niences would not this measure cause ? In the
first place, slaves have no proper person {los
CONDITION OF SLAVES IN CUBA. 131
eiclavos no tienen persona) y they have no repre-
sentation in society^ they are considered as things
snbject to the dominion of man, and ill could
sach beings name agents or attorneys, who cannot
appear in their own character in our courts. And
yet, if, abating the rigour of fixed principles, we
chose to leave to slaves the free election of which
we treat — how many and how expensive would
be the causes which would inundate our tribunals
"—and what would be the insubordination alone of
this class of domestics, when unfortunately inte-
rested men are not wanting to derive the advan-
tage of lucre from such miserable discord? The
qmdics, however, as chosen by the corporation,
should be adorned with all the fine qualities we
have already stated, and in the degree that they
may undertake to protect the rights of these un-
fortnnates, they will take care to beware of
eneouraging unjust complaints, by maintaining
the slaves under due submission and respect,
which system is certainly the most happy that
ean be adopted to conciliate the private interest
of the slaves with those of the owners of them."
Now the next interpretation of the royal law,
or oedula of 1789, which, at page 3, ordains the
regulation of the daily labour of slaves, " so that
it should begin and conclude from sunrise till
sunset," and, moreover, should leave them two
hours of the intermediate time for their own use
and benefit, is given in these terms— terms indeed
most worthy of profound attention : — " But this
is not observed, and neither the magistrates
regulate the time of labour, nor do the slaves
132 CONDITION OF SLAVES IN CUBA.
cease to serve their masters at all hours of the
day;'* (" Esto no se observa j ui las justitias, ui
los esclavos dejan de servir a sus duenos en to
das las horas del dia.") Well may the expounder
of the sentiments of the Royal Tribunal of the
Audiencia of Cuba say, the laws are not observed,
'* the slaves cease not at all hours of the day to
w^ork for their masters."
But this second Daniel, this Cuban commen-
tator on Spanish law, rigidly indeed as he sticks
to the sense of the colonial judges, tells but half
the truth, when he says that " the slaves cease
not to work for their masters at all hours of the
day ;" he should have said, on the sugar estates,
during the time of the crop, for upwards of six
months in the year, at all hours of the night, with
the exception of four for sleep. It did not suit
the purpose of the Royal Audiencia to startle the
ears or astonish the weak minds of the people in
the towns, with the frightful announcement or the
appalling statement that the wretched negroes,
in spite of the express terms of the royal law far the
regulation of slave-labour, were worked to death on
these estates for twenty continuous hours, twelve
in the field, and eight in the boiling-house or at
the mill ; and that even on the coffee estates,
where the necessity for hard labour is so much
less, that at certain times of the year it is a com-
mon practice, during the bright moonlight nights,
to work the slaves at field-work for four or five
hours by the " Clara de la luna," as it is called.
But what are the sentiments of the Royal Audi-
encia, on the subject of the great privilege on
CONDITION OF SLAVES IN CUBA^ 133
paper conferred by the laws on the slave, in the
power nominally given him of purchasing his
freedom, or portions of it, by the payment at once^
or at different periods, of the price his master paid
for him. It is to be observed, that the payment
of a part of this sum to the master gives the
negro the legal right of having that sum deducted
from his price whenever he happens to be sold,
and entitles him, as it is most erroneously but gene*
rally believed^ to an immediate reduction of labour
in proportion to the sum paid.
In the year 1825, this error was fallen into in a
very able statement, addressed to the Secretary of
State for Foreign Affairs, by one of the British
Commissioners at the Havana, on the treatment
of the Spanish slaves, and the mode of manumis-
sion in the Spanish colonies. And, no doubt, the
origin of this error was the same as of that into
which others have fallen, in common with all who
estimate the value of Spanish laws by the word-
ing, and not the execution of them. The paying
a sum of money to a master on the part of a slave
towards the purchase of his liberty, renders the
payer what is called "coartada," the meaning of
which is, in part manumitted. The word is
derived from coartar, to cut or separate, and not
from quartear, to divide into four parts, as is com-
monly supposed. — " Some syndics," says the law
treatise in question, " have attempted to alleviate
slavery, so as to pretend to concede a half of their
time to slaves who are bound in service to their
masters," (when they have paid half of their value
to their owners ;) '' but this opinion is not in con-
134 OONDITION OF SLAYBS IN CUBA.
fbnnity with the law, and the syndics should
respect the rights of the proprietary power, with*
out allowing themselves to be led astray by a
notion of equity badly understood. The coarta*
cion (or part payment made to a master by a slave
towards the attainment of freedom) was not esta-
blished to reduce slavery into halves, but only to
prevent any alteration in the price to the slaves.
A slave who, being worth 6(90 dollars, gives to
his master 400 by way of coartacion, remains as
subject to servitude as any slave who is so en-
tirely. The master cannot be deprived of the
proper rights of his authority, and the slave is
under the obligation of devoting all his service to
him ; for such reasons the syndics ought to avoid
the wish to establish such demands." Then
comes the interpretation of the law in Cuba, as
laid down in this treatise, on that most important
privilege of all to the negroes in Spanish colonies,
the power nominally given by the law to the slave
who is ill-treated, or discontented with good cause
with his master, to seek another owner on pay-
ment of the price at which he might be valued by
the judicial authorities. Now hear the mouth-
piece of the Real Audiencia of Cuba on this
subject.
^'The question may also be asked, if slaves
(coartados) have the right to go out of the power
of their masters whenever they desire, and the
answer is not difficult, if we consider that the
slaves (enteros) entirely so, are obliged to all^e
some great reason to compel their masters to sell
them. And what difference can there be between
CONDITION OF SLAVES IN CI7BJk. 135
one and the other, when we see that the yoke
of slavery on all is the same? If the slaves (coar'»
tados) do not enjoy the rights of freemen, on
what principle can they claim the right of chang-
ing masters at their pleasure? Is it for some
light correction ? This is not sufficient to enable
them to use this privilege. And then, could the
masters exercise their authority, with the due
severity which is necessary ? By no means ; and
hence we have seen that the Real Audiencia has
always repelled similar demands in all the suits
that have been promoted on this point, and
brought for their superior decision. But some
persons desire, notwithstanding, founding their
opinion on the royal cedula of the 8th April,
1779,* that slaves (coartados) should be left in
possession of the privilege in question. In answer
to this, let us refer to the terms of the cedula.
We declare, it says, that the masters of slaves
(not coartados) have the liberty to sell them for
whatsoever price they agree on with the buyers,
according to their actual worth ; that when masters
for just reasons are obliged by the judicial autho^
rity to sell their slaves (those so entirely), it shall
be for the price at which they shall be valued by
those authorities ; but if the buyer wishes to take
the slave without valuation, {freeing thereon
with the master, they can arrange between them
the price, and the authorities have no power to
prevent it, although the master is compelled to
sell, except that in order to diminish the amount
of the alcabala duty (or tax on the sale of pro-
* In this cedula the precise duties of the syndic are laid down.
136 CONDITION OF SLAVES IN CUBA.
perty) some collusion between the party be sus-
pected ; further, that slaves who are * coartado/
or have paid that portion remaining of it, the
same obligation being binding on the buyer ; that
in all cases the seller shall pay the alcabala tax
according to the price paid ; further, that if the
slave * coartado' by bad conduct give a reasonable
motive for selling him, however slight his crime,
the addition to it be made of the alcabala tax on
his sale ; and finally, that no slaves of any kind,
entire or coartados, who redeem themselves by
their lawful earnings, ought to pay this tax. The
masters shall be obliged, conformable to the
custom, to give them their liberty the moment
they bring the due price for it."
Now, to any ordinary capacity, the plain mean-
ing of the terms of this beneficent law of 1778, is
that slaves have the power of demanding to be
sold to another master, if another master can be
procured to pay the price fixed on by the judges
to the actual owner. In fact, the slave by this
means puts himself in the position of a coartado,
one who has the right to demand his freedom
whenever a price has been agreed on, or fixed by
judicial valuation ; and having procured a person
to advance the money, he is content to have his
liberty sold again, in consideration of the change
of masters. But mark the chicanery by which
every practical utility of this benevolent law is
frittered away by the interpretationof the judicial
authorities of Cuba. The slave who would change
owners is first called on to produce a reasonable
cause for his application. He alleges severe
CONDITION OF SLAVES IN CUBA. 137
punishment or harsh treatment, — who is to decide
whether the slave has been maltreated or not?
The syndic. Who is the syndic? A planter
himself. And who is the master ? The neip^hbour
of the syndic. But what says the Real Audiencia
exposition of the law for the regulation of the
practice of these syndics? Why, that the due
severity of the discipline of the proprietary powef
towards the slaves is not a sufficient cause for a
slave's application to be sold, and that the only suffi-
cient causes are insufficient nourishment, scarcity
of clothing, and dearth of instruction in the
Christian religion. Now what does the last
obligation on the planters amount to in Cuba ? —
to the christening of the slave, and to the burial
of him with the ordinary rights of the church.
This is the whole amount in Cuba of religious
instruction, save and except the teaching the
newly-imported Pagans to repeat, like parrots on
certain feasts, the Lord's Prayer, the confiteor,
and the decades of the rosary ; but as for having
the slightest conception of the meaning of the
words they repeat by rote, it would be a folly to
expect it, for they are never instructed in religion
by priest or layman, except on the estate of (some
rare phenomenon in Cuba) a pious planter, a
scrupulous master, and a Christian man.
As to the complaint of insufficiency of food, the
syndic of course acts on the general opinion that
it is the interest of an owner to feed his slaves well,
and to clothe them also, for the sake of the pre*
servation of their health and strength. This
sounds well, audit passes for the truth with thou-
138 CONDITION OF SliAYBS IN CUBA.
sands of people, not only in Cuba but in England.
This is an argument stated and re-stated hundreds
of times, in answer to the ordinary charge of ill*
treatment brought against slave-owners, namely,
that it is the interest of a man to give good treat-
ment to the beast (and, " pari passu," to the slave)
he keeps for use, or sale, or hire. No doubt it is
his duty, but is it his interest, according to his
ideas, to do this ? Is it the supposed interest of
the owners of our own miserable hacks, to treat
the animal thus which he lets on hire or rides on
daily; or rather, can you persuade the great
body of horse-dealers it is their interest to do
this ? Unquestionably you cannot. They act on
the principle that a quick return of the money
outlaid on horse-flesh, no matter how great the
wear and tear of the property that is worked or
hired, is better than moderate work with small
gain, and a longer use of the means from whieh
that return is derived. Why, we might as well
go to Connemara, or the shores of Leuce, and
talk to Mr. Richard Martin's venerable ghost of
the humanity of the treatment of the hackney-
coach horse-owners in England, on the ground of
their interests. That honest ghost, if ghosts in
Ireland do speak, as they are said to do, would
tell you that these persons deny it is their interest
to spare their horses, and admit it is their interest
to get the greatest possible quantity of work in the
shortest space of time from their hacks, and when
they are worked off their legs, to purchase new
ones. In fact, it is on this very principle the fast
mail-coaches are horsed and run.
CiONDXTION OF SLAVES IN CUBA. 139
But I have heard it said, however they may
work them, it sarely is their interest to feed them
well. To this I answer, the universal feeling of
the tribe is this, their true interest is to keep them
cheaply. True it is, if they gave them treble the
quantity of good hard provender, they would last,
perhaps, double the length of time, and do half as
much more work ; but you cannot persuade these
men you understand their interests better than
they do; you may, indeed, easily persuade the
owner of a stud of race-horses of the soundness of
your opinion, but the high-blooded racers that
belong, in England, to gentlemen on the turf, in
proportion to the hacks and stage-horses, are
about in the same ratio as the slaves in Cuba
I>elonging to intelligent, considerate, humane pro-*
prietors are to the wretched negroes in the hands
of unthinking, unprincipled, and grasping owners.
But what says the Creole expounder of the
Spanish law on the subject of the most important
privilege conferred on the slaves ? " We believe,"
he says, ^' that a slave not having undergone bad
treatment on the part of his owner, and having
administered to him food, clothing, and religious
instruction, he cannot compel his master to sell
him to another." So much for the benefit of the
parchment privileges of the slaves of Cuba !
And now for their moral condition, and the
administration of the laws affecting it, on the high
authority of the work published with the sanc-
tion and at the expense of the Real Audiencia of
Cuba. ''As amongst the Bomans," says the
author, '' there could be no marriage solemnised
140 CONDITION OF SLAVES IN CUBA.
except among citizens, the union of the slaves was
accomplished by concubinage, and the children
followed the condition of the mother ; our district
law has adopted the same system (nuestra ley de
partida ha adoptado la misma disposicionjy and
when recently coartacion was established, the
question was discussed, if the infant of a slave
coartado should enjoy the same privilege as the
mother ; but the doubt has ceased, since the pub^-
lication of the royal cedula of the 10th of
February, 1789, in which we find the point iii
question definitely settled."
There can be no doubt of the express meaning
of the royal law on this subject being what it is
described, and there is, unfortunately, no doubt
that the slaves of Cuba have none of the rights of
citizens, that they are not suffered to marry, and
that a general system of concubinage is that whick
the Christian law of the partida sanctions in Cuba,
and to which it condemns nearly half-a-million of
human beings. Here I take leave of the Cuban
exposition of the Spanish laws for the ameliora-
tion of slavery. No one can dispute the authority
of the treatise I have referred to, for the express
sanction of the Real Audienda is prefixed to it. It
was with no little difiiculty I procured a copy of
that work, for I have already stated it is not allowed
to fall into the hands of strangers.
I now proceed to show the extraordinary delu*
sion which has been practised, not only on
foreigners who have visited the Spanish colonies,
but even sought to be practised on our Govern-
ment, and on the agents of it. It is no wonder.
CONDITION OP SLAVES IN CUBA. 141
indeed, if the world has been imposed on by
the specious benevolence of the Spanish laws,
that have never been carried into execution, or
are capable of enforcement in any country where
slavery exists, and where the interests arising
from it are prosperous. And if the result of
the years of turmoil and painful inquiry I have
passed through in the West Indies, were produc-
tive of no other advantage than the experience
which enables me to make these observations,
I would fain hope that I have made the best
use of my time, and the opportunities afforded me
by my position, that it was possible for me to
make, in enabling me to disabuse the minds of men
in Europe, of an opinion so erroneously enter-
tained, that slavery in the Spanish colonies is mild
in its character, and that the fact of its lenity is to
be established by the laws and ordinances of the
sovereigns of Spain. But on this subject I must
briefly refer to another source of information.
In the year 1824, Mr^ Secretary Canning ad-
dressed a despatch to the Chief Commissioner at
the Havana, desiring to be furnished with infor-
mation on the subject of the manumission of
slaves in the Spanish colonies, and enclosing a
memorandum which had been presented to our
Government at that period, when the question of
gradual emancipation in our colonies was forcing
itself on the attention of ministers. The document
enclosed is in the following terms : —
"That slaves (namely, those in the Spanish
colonies) are generally appraised at 400 dollars ;
that a slave paying down the fourth pairt of his
142 CONDITION OF 8LAYBS IN CUBA.
Talue, or 100 dollars, immediately acquires a right
to be coartado — that is, that he can work out,
paying his master three reals de yellon or bits
a-day, nntil he can make a further deposit ; or^ if
the master require bis service, he can oblige the
man to work for him, paying the slave one real ;
thus a deposit of 200 dollars gives the slave a
right to two reals daily ; of 300, three reals ; and
thus till the completion of the payment of the
whole sum in which he had been appraised. A
dollar is worth eight reals or bits."— {Vide Slave'
Trade Reports, 1824-26, Class A., page 63.)
In the first place, the common error with
respect to the meaning of the term coartacion,
which I have already referred to, is pointed out
in the reference made to the question of paying
down one-fourth part of the value of the slave.
The next error is in the statement, that a slave
coartado has the right to work out, or to leave
his master's service, paying him wages in a certain
proportion to the sum still due for his liberty, the
law treatise I have so largely quoted explicitly
denying that the slave has any such right against
the consent of his master. The next error is, that
there is any law which compels the master to pay
wages in any proportion to whatever sum the
slave may have paid in part liquidation of the
price of freedom.
The Chief Commissioner replied to Mr. Can-
ning's inquiry, October 9, 1824, stating, that he
had consulted the most able lawyers and govern-
ment authorities on the subject of manumis-
sion, and encloses a memorandum— ^a valuable
CONDITION OF SLAVES IN CUBA. 143
paper — though by no means to be considered as
practicaUy applicable to the attainable privileges
of preedial slaves^ and that distinction is not suffi-
ciently drawn in the document, but only slightly,
and very slightly, .alluded to at the end of the
memorandum. Nevertheless, the extent and ac-
curacy of information that it is so difficult to pro-
cure on this subject, is surprising to me ; and in
referring to it 1 have only to entreat attention to
this point, that the information has reference to
what the laws decree, and not to the practical
working of them ; and when it refers to the latter,
the experience adduced is entirely of their execu-
tion in towns and cities, and especially at the seat
of Government, the Havana.
Mr. Kilbee, the Commissioner, informs Mr.
Canning that he has been wrongly informed that
slayes are valued at any fixed price for " coar-
tacion;" that he has known one sell for 1,000
dollars, but that the tribunals discountenance
excessive valuation ; that the average valuation of
full-grown negroes on estates is 500 dollars ; that
house-slaves are valued at six, and mechanics at
still higher prices ; that the statement is incorrect
in asserting, *' if the master require the service of
his coartado slave, he can oblige the man to
work, paying the slave a certain sum," the fact
being, that in all cases the master is entitled to
the service of his slave, whether coartado or not,
without any remuneration whatever. That the
wages of a common field labourer is about four
reals a day, there being eight reals " de plata"
and twenty r^ds " de vellon" to the dollar, (the
144 CONDITION OF SLAVES IN CUBA;
writer of the memorandam previously referred to
having confounded these,) and, moreover, that the
negro is fed and clothed ; and that as mechanics
earn from a dollar and a quarter to three dollars
a-day, consequently, a coartado slave, who works
out, is able to pay his master the daily quota pro*
portioned to his price, and to lay by something
towards the further attainment of his liberty.
That the regulations for ameliorating the con-
dition of slaves are- founded principally on custom
which has acquired the force of law, many ot
which are confirmed by royal decrees.
That when a slave applies to purchase his
liberty, the master is not allowed to fix an arbi-
trary price, but if he and the slave cannot agree
upon it, two appraisers are named, one by the
master, and another by the syndic, on the part of
the slave, and if they differ, the judge names an
umpire ; and in these cases, the slave is exempt
from the payment of the alcabala duty, which is
six per cent, on the sale of slaves sold in venta
real, or by public auction. That a master will be
compelled to sell a slave, if a purchaser is found
to engage to emancipate the slave at the end of
any reasonable time — that ill usage justifies an
application for change of masters — that a slave
once emancipated, cannot again be reduced to
slavery— that the master having once given an
" escritura de coartacion," binds himself never to
demand more than a stipulated sum, though less
than the actual value, has no relation to the actual
price originally paid for him — that the coartado
slave, when his master allows him to work out on
OONDITION OF SLAVES IN CUBA. 145
hire, is only bound to pay his master one real
a*day for every 100 dollars in which he is coar-
tado ; thus, if his appraised price was 400 dollars,
and he had paid 100 towards his liberty, he would
only have to pay three reals a-day to his master —
that a pregnant negress may emancipate her
child even when in the womb, at the fixed price
of twenty-five dollars ; and from the time of its
birth till it be baptised, for fifty dollars— that the
system respecting the manumission of slaves,
although in the country parts, where there are few
magistrates, there may be, and undoubtedly there
are, many abuses — yet in the Havana and other
lai^e towns, and in other populous districts, it is
efficiently observed ; and lastly, on the authority
of this able statement of Mr. Killbee, the slave
population of the island of Cuba, in the year
1824, was 260,000; the free people of colour,
115,000; and the whites, 290,000.
I have attempted to show that the system
of manumission, and the regulations in force for
ameliorating the condition of the slave in the
Spanish colonies, honourable as these are to the
apparent intentions of the Spanish Government,
are of little real benefit to the prsedial slaves ; that
is, to the great body of the slave population in
these colonies. There are exceptions, there are
instances, where slavery has not rendered masters
heedless of all laws human and divine, even where
their pecuniary interests are concerned. But
these are few on the estates. There are instances,
where the owners are persons of high rank and
wealth and standing in society — noblemen, like
146 CONDITION OF SLAVBS IN CUBA.
the Count Fernandina, and a few others of his
order, — where the rights and privileges of the
slaves are in some degree respected. These men,
however, live not on their properties, and it is
only to their occasional visits the slaves on their
properties have to look for justice. It is, as I
have said before, in the large towns alone, and for
the non-p^aedial slaves, that the privileges in
question can be said to be available, and where
manumission can be hoped for, the means acquired
of obtaining it, and the opportunity given of
applying for it, and for the partial redress of any
wrong suffered by a slave. The murder of a
slave by a white man, in no case whatever, is
punished with death. During my residence in
Cuba, some of the most atrocious murders, that J
ever heard ofy came to my own immediate know-
ledge, the murder of slaves by their masters or
mayorals, and not in any one instance was the
murderer punished, except by imprisonment, or
the payment of costs of suit.
During General Tacon's administration of the
government in the latter part of the year 1837,
in the village of Guanabacoa, a league from the
Havana, where I was then residing, the murder of a
slave was perpetrated by his master, a well-known
lawyer of the Havana, whose name I consider it
my duty to make known, and as far as lies in
my power to expose it to the infamy of a notoriety,
which it is not in the power of the shackled press
of Cuba to give to it, but which I have reason to
believe the press of Spain will give to these dis-
closures ; so that the reprobation of his country-
GOvmriON OF 8i«a.vb8 in cvba^ 147
men will reach this gentleman, whom the laws
he outraged were unable to reach or punish. The
name of the murderer is Machado, and he moves
without reproach in the goodly circles of genteel
society at Havana, in that society where the capi-
talist, who has acquired his riches in the abomi-
nable slave-trade, by the especial favour of his
sovereign bears the title of " Hacelkntimmo/' —
where the prosperous dealer in human flesh, now
retired from the trade, is a noble of the land —
where the foreign merchant, who still pursues the
profitable traflic on the coast, is the boon com-
panion of the commercial magnates of the place —
and where the agents of foreign governments
themselves are hailed as the private protectors
and avowed well-wishers of the interests of the
trade. The murdered slave of the lawyer Ma-
chado was suspected of stealing some plated orna-
ments belonging to the harness of his master ; the
man denied the charge ; the customary process in
such matters, to extort a confession from a sus-
pected slave, was had recourse to. He was put
down and flogged in the presence of his master.
The flogging, it appeared by the sworn testimony
of the witnesses who were present, given before
the commandant of Guanabacoa, a colonel in the
army, a gentleman of the highest character, com-
menced at three o'clock — it ceased at six, the man
having literally died under the lash ; a little time
before the man expired, he had strength enough
left to cry out he would confess if they would flog
no more. The master immediately sent for the
commissary of police to receive his confession ; tbis^
h2
148 CONDITION OF SLAVBS IN CUBA.
officer came, and stooping down to speak to the
man, he found him motionless ; he said, the man
had fainted. The brutal master kicked the lifeless
body, saying, " the dog was in no faint, he was
shamming." The commissary stooped down again,
examined the body, and replied, " the man is
dead." The master hereupon called in two phy-
sicians of Guanabacoa,and rightly counting on the
sympathies of his professional attendants, he ob-
tained a medical certificate, solemnly declaring
that the negro had laboured under hernia, and
had died of that disease. In the meantime, the
atrocity had reached the ears of the Captain-
general Talcon, and the alcadis of Guanabacoa
were ordered to inquire into the matter ; they did
so, and the result of the inquiry was, of course, the
exculpation of the murderer. General Tacon,
dissatisfied with the decision, immediately ordered
the military officer commanding at Guanabacoa
to proceed to a solemn investigation, de novOj
without reference to the decision of the civil autho-
rities, and this gentleman, with whom I was well
iEusquainted, proceeded, with all the energy and in-
tegrity belonging to him, to the inquiry. The
result of this inquiry was an able report, wherein
the commandant declared that the testimony ad-
duced, plainly proved that the negro had died
under the lash, in presence of his master, in con-
sequence of the severity of the punishment he
received during three hours. I have entered at
large into this case, because I speak from actual
knowledge of the judicial proceedings, and from
the authority of the judge in the cause. Now, what
CONDITION OP SLAVES IN CUBA. 1 49
•was the result of this case? Why, in due time,
the captain-general communicates to the com-
mandant the law opinion of the assessor or legal
adviser of his administration, to the effect, that the
report was evidently erroneous, inasmuch as the
commandant had examined negro witnesses on
the investigation, when their masters were not
present, which was illegal, and consequently all
the proceedings were vitiated. In plain English,
the murderer was acquitted, and the upright officer
who declared him guilty was rebuked ; nay more,
he was ultimately removed from his post atGuana-
bacoa. The folly of talking about illegality in
the proceedings is evident, when it is considered
that the setting aside the civil authorities, and
putting the cause in the hands of the military tri-
bunal, was a course obviously illegal, but rendered
necessary, in the mind of the governor, by the base
corruption of the civil tribunal, and the iniquity
of its decision. On inquiry into the amount of
money paid by Machado, in the way of bribes, to
obtain the decision in his favour, and the costs of
suit, I found that the expenses amounted to 4000
dollars.
The next case I have to direct attention to,
has been given to the world in the able work
of Mr. TurnbuU on Cuba. I happened to be
with Mr. Tumbull on the journey of which he
speaks, in reference to this case, when a person
who accompanied us on our return from a sugar
estate in the vicinity of Guines, informed us that
the estate in question was the terror of all the
negroes in the vicinity. Of this fact, what we had
150 COllDTTIOlf OF SLAVES IN CUBA.
ourselves witnessed of the management of the
property, and what we had heard from the mayo-
ral himself, left but little cause to doubt ; but it
was not without surprise we learnt that this very
overseer, who was still left in charge of the estate,
had recently been brought before the authorities
of Guines on the charge of flogging one of the
slaves of the estate to death, and that the result
of this investigation was similar to that of the case
at Guanabacoa. The body of the murdered slave
was examined by medical men, and the usual cer-
tificate was given in all due form, satisfactorily
accounting for the death of the negro ; and, in the
eye of the law of Cuba, the slave that was mur-
dered by a white man, and expired under the lash
of legitimate authority, died a natural death. The
wretch who committed this act left the Court, of
course, without a blemish on his character, and
the employer of this man — who had taken him
back into his service, to the terror of every negro
on his estate — this respectable planter was living
at ease, fifty miles distant from the scene where the
blood of his murdered negro was shed with im-
punity, enjoying the pleasures of the Havana,
and, perhaps, by the urbanity of his manners, the
hospitality of his house, and the indulgent treat-
ment of his domestic slaves, convincing the passing
tourist, who was fortunate enough to be his guest,
of ^Hhe peculiar mildness of slavery in the Spanish
colonies."
The next case — I know these horrors are pain-
ful to be listened to — but it is a sickly sensibility
which refuses to hear details, however shocking
CONDITION OF SLAVES IN CUBA. 151
to humanity, that must be told by those who have
the misfortune to be acquainted with them, or the
wrongs they treat of cannot be redressed, — the
next Case of negro murder committed by a mayoral,
of which I have to speak, came to my knowledge
in the autumn of 1839. I was travelling in the
vicinity of Matanzas, accompanied by a gentle-
man who resided in that district. I was informed
by my companion that he had just received very
unpleasant intelligence of an acquaintance of his,
a mayoral of an estate on the Pan of Matanzas,
who had unfortunately flogged a worthless negro,
and the worthless negro had unfortunately died,
and the soldiers had just been sent down to arrest
the mayoral, and they did not find him. The mis-
fortune of the mayoral touched me indeed less
than the murder of the slave ; but, if my sym-
pathies had been ever so strongly directed to the
inconvenience the mayoral had been put to by his
flight, I might have been comforted by the assur-
ance that he had only to keep out of the way for
some time, and the thing would pass over ; or, if
he were taken, at the worst he had only to suffer
in purse, and perhaps in person by imprisonment
for some time, if he was a poor and friendless
mayoral. This was only another vacancy in the
negro gang, to be filled up by the purchase of a
new Bozal — another life, taken away under the
lash, to be added to the list of Cuban crimes —
another item in the long account that slavery has
to settle with a just God. I know it is painful
to dwell on these topics, but the report I have
alluded to has proved how necessary it is to enter
152 CONDITION OF SLAVES IN CUBA.
on them most fully, and to show how greatly the
people of France, — and, I fear I may add, <^
England, — have been deceived with respect to
the subject of slavery in the Spanish colonies.
The last case of murder, perpetrated on a slave
by a white person, to which I will refer, took
place at the Havana in the last year. This crime
was committed by an American woman on a
poor negro girl, under such horrible circum-
stances of cold-blooded cruelty, that I doubt if
there is any parallel to be found to it in the
records of crime in Cuba. The girl that was
murdered belonged to a Spaniard of the Havana,
who was the paramour of the American. This
woman was possessed of property to a consi-
derable amount. She had been long rjesident in
Havana, and was somewhat remarkable for her
personal attractions. Her friend, the Spaniard,
had sent to her house one of his slaves to assi^
her, and this girl became the victim of her
jealousy, it is supposed — for no other adequate
reason has been assigned for the cruelties prac-
tised on her. The cries of the unfortunate girl
had been heard in the adjoining houses; at
length the usual screams were heard no longer,
but night after night the sounds of continued
moaning were noticed by the neighbours, and at
length they gave information of the matter to the
police. The commissary of police proceeded
to the house of the American lady. On searching
the outhouses in the yard, in one of these offices,
converted into a dungeon, they found a dying
negro girl, chained by the middle to the wall, in a
CONDITION OP SLAVES IN CUBA. 163
state that shocked the senses of all who were
present, — so loathsome and withal so pitiful an
object the persons who discovered this unfor-
tunate girl never beheld. On releasing her from
this dreadful dungeon, where she had been she
could not tell how long, it was found that the
chain round her body had eaten into the flesh,
and the ulcers in it were in a state of gangrene.
She was taken to the hospital, and she died there
iih two or three days' time. If I have added one
iota to the truth, or exaggerated a single point in
the statement I have given, I am content that
every fact I have stated should be disbelieved ;
but, in truth, the horrors of the place, and the
wretchedness of the condition in which she was
found, are understated. In fiact, they could not
be described. The monster who committed this
murder, when I left the island of Cuba, was
alive and well; in prison, indeed, but in one
of the halls of distinction (salas de distinction),
where the prisoner who has money, no matter
what his crime, may always obtain superior ac-
commodation. She was visited frequently by
persons of my acquaintance. She did not admit
that she had committed any crime, and she had
no fear for the result of the process that was going
on, except on the score of its expense. She
looked on her imprisonment as a conspiracy only
of the Spanish lawyers to get money from her,
because they knew she was rich ; and in this she
probably was not much mistaken. The Teniente
Gobernador, one of the principal oflBcers of State,
was in the habit of visiting her in prison, and
h3
164 OOIfDITION OF SLAVES IN CUBA.
encouraging her with the assurance that her suit
would speedily be terminated, and that she bad
nothing worse than banishment to fear. A
lawyer of the name of Garcia had defended her,
some short time before her committal on the
present charge, in another case of cruelty prac-
tised by her on a slave, and he publicly boasted
that if she had come forward in the present case
with a sufficient sum, he would have brought her
through her present difficulty without any more
inconvenience than in the former instance. Such
is the administration of justice in the island of
Cuba, and the execution of those laws which are
thought so mild in their character, and benevolent
in their principles, that the slave who lives under
them is protected from injustice, and in conse-
quence of their excellence the negroes in the
Spanish colonics are comparatively happy.
It was said by the late Mr. Canning that all
laws for the partial amelioration of the condition
of slaves were necessarily defective, because such
laws had no executive principle, inasmuch as the
persons who were expected to carry them into
operation were interested in defeating them.
My experience entirely bears out the assertion of
Mr. Canning ; and both assertions, I am sorry to
say, are at variance with that part of the report
to which I have referred, and with the common
opinion of the humanity of the system of Spanish
slavery, entertained even by well-informed persons
in this country.
And, in concluding this subject, I would earn-
estly desire to impress these facts on the minds of
CONDITION OF SLAVBS IN CUBA. 155
all who are interested in the question of negro
emancipation : — that the abolition of slavery in
our colonies has given great advantages to those
colonies where slavery exists; and that it is
in vain to expect a beneficial result from our
efforts, while slavery flourishes in Cuba and the
Brazils,* and leans on the sympathy and support
* Dr. Walsh, in his " Notes on the Brazils," gives a tonchini;
description of their degradation and sufferings, instanced by ap-
palling facts which came under his observation. So intolerable is
their misery that they frequently commit suicide or attempt to fly
from their oppressors. Of suicide he says, * ' It is the daily practice in
Brazil. Besides the instances noticed elsewhere/' he observes,
"the harbour is constantly covered with the bodies of blacks,
who are known to have thrown themselves in to escape an unsup-
portable life." So great is their horror of slavery, he adds, ** tluit
the slaves not only kill themselves but their children to escape it."
Affectionate as negro mothers are known to be, Dr. Walsh states,
that " this very affection impels them to commit infanticide ; " they
have, moreover, ** the strongest repugnance to have children, and
practise means to extinguish life before the infant is bom, and
provide, as they say, against the affliction of bringing slaves into
the world."
When taken after flight,— and they are regularly hunted by their
masters, — Dr. Walsh says, " Besides the punishment of flogging,
an iron collar is firmly riveted on their necks, from which a long
bar projects nearly at right angles, terminated at the other end by
a cross or by a broad curl." " The multitude of slaves,'* he adds,
*' seen thus neck-fettered in the streets is a proof of the numbers
who are continually attempting to escape, and also a proof how
intolerable is the state of existence in which they find themselves."
Recent authorities confirm generally the statements of Dr. Walsh.
The Dutch in Surinam, Curacoa, Java, Elmina, &c., hold about
5(>,000 slaves. A recent traveller in Surinam, the Hon. Sir
Edward Gust, says, *' I grieve to say that the condition of the
colonies of the German Protestants is even inferior to that of the
Roman catholic nations. There is not the shadow of attention
paid by the Dutch or the Danes to the religious or moral amend-
ment of their slaves. A few Moravians are tolerated, but not
encouraged. The condition of the negroes in Surinam is a degree
of degradation but little improved from the state in which tfiey
quitted the African shores. Boys and girls of aU ages walk
abroad, without shame or decency, both in town and country,
with aU the exposure, if not with the innocence of Paradise, and
the sound of the church-going bell is never heard upon the fertile
shores of the rich and mighty estoaries which fbrm that splendid
156 SUQAR B6TATE8.
of countries like America and the colonies of other
countries, whose interests are identified with theirs.
SUGAR ESTATES VISITED IN 1837-8-9.
On the 12th of December, 1838, accompanied
by Mr. TurnbuU, I set out for Guines by the
railroad, a distance of forty-six miles from the
Havana; 1st class, 4 J dollars (17s. 8Jd.) ; 2nd
class, 3 dollars (12s. 6d. sterling.) This work was
performed by an American engineer.
The road lies through an uninteresting country,
very thinly populated, and little cultivated. The
soil is worn out, and estates are scattered over a
wide extent of country in this district. The loan
^r the railroad — a single line — was made through
the house of Robertson, of London, on very expen-
sive terms. It pays from 600 to 800 dollars a
day. The great obstacles to its success are — the
timidity of the people ; dependence on foreign
engineers, in a country where temperance is a
rare virtue among foreigners of that class ; and,
lastly, the instability of the institutions of a
country where slavery prevails.
Guines is a town of about 4,000 souls. The
vicinity is thickly studded with sugar estates.
colony. The lash is too manifestly in cruel operation, and fettora
of great severity are continually obtruded on ^e trayeUer's obser-
yation. Among the estates on the Surinam river, we passed some
poor fellows who had experienced the most horrible floggings, and
many were loaded with chains, for attempting to leave de colony,
in order to gain liberty in our adjoining settlements." la
Surinam, as well as in Cuba and the Brazils, British subjectsare
large holders of slaves.
The slaves in the Brazils are estimated by some writers at two
millions, by others at two millions and a ludf, and by others at
three millions. Their condition appears to be in no respect better
than that of the slaves in Cuba.
SUGAR ESTATES. 157
We were inyited, on our arrival, to a ball given
by the contractors for the railway works to the
public. We met there some American naval
officers of the Ontario; one of them, a Vir-
ginian, entered on the subject of slavery in the
United States. Mr. TurnbuU said, " it was a sad
inheritance ; " to which the American officer
replied, "As for my part, I think it was a
glorious one, and I hope it never will have an
end." On the subject of peace or war with
Europe, he said, " There must soon be a war —
blood-letting is necessary, I think ; " and then, in
terms which I do not precisely remember, he
expressed a wish for war, but acknowledged it
was neither the interest of America or England
that they should fight.
We visited two sugar estates within a league of
Gaines, the first called Olanda, Senhor Montalvo,
proprietor. We were permitted to enter without
any employer of the estate, which was desirable
for the purpose of making inquiries of those we
found on the spot. On going into the mill-house
we found three persons in a dark corner, in the
stocks — two negroes and one mulatto boy, all
nearly naked, having nothing on but tattered
shirts. We asked them how long they had been
in the stocks. They said, — " two months." They
were not constantly kept there, however, but were
taken out to work in the day ; and at meal-time,
and during the night, they were kept in the
stocks. The crime of the two negro men was
vagrancy, wandering at night beyond the precincts
of the slave-pen — that of the boy, stealing eggs.
168 SUGAR ESTATES.
The latter belonged to a doctor at Ouines, who
sent him to the overseer of the Olanda estate, to
have him punished there. The nights at this
time were not only cool, but extremely cold ; and
in this damp, dismal place, in the depth of winter,
every night, for two months, had these unfortu-
nate wretches been kept in the stocks, without a
rug to cover them. We had brought a negro
servant with us from Guines, and the poor boy in
the stocks begged the former, in the most piteous
terms, to intercede with his master for him.
We next visited the mayoral. He told us the
estate was in pleito (the subject of law), the manage-
ment and receipts had passed from the hands of
the owner to that of the money-lenders of the
Havana. There were now ninety-six slaves on
the estate, and forty only fit for hard work. They
made 1,000 boxes of sugar a year. The soil was
a good deal worn out. I spoke to him about the
people in the stocks. He said, " Two of them
are runaways ; the other is a thief." I said, two
months' confinement in the stocks every night, in
that cold, damp place in winter, without a blanket
to put round them, or even straw under them, was
a hard punishment. " The sooner they were let
out, the better it would be for the estate,"— I did
not venture to say for them ; for I might as well
have spoken to a savage of New Zealand of hu-
manity, as to that Spanish mayoral of any interests
that were likely to be served by abridging the
sufierings of a slave. He was an unreasoning,
unfeeling man, of a brutal mind, and yet he was
remarkably good looking, had fine, delicately-
SUGAR ESTATES. 169
formed, nobly-outlined Spanish features, with
something of softness in them, and his manners
were courteous — ^naturally so — and pleasing, when
he was communicating with us white men. But
an awful change I observed come over his counte-
nance and whole demeanour, when once or twice
he had occasion to give some orders to the slaves,
as we passed along. I could not help thinking
how thankful men should be who are not thrown
into bad circumstances, surrounded by evils, out
of the influence of all that is good, with no ex-
ample of it, no encouragement for it, no faith in
it on the part of those who are above them, or
fear of violating it in respect to those who are
below them.
The Spanish mayoral, I have little doubt, had
been brutalised by his calling — had no energy of
character, nor sense of religion, nor enlighten-
ment, to resist the debasing influence of slavery.
Had he been placed in a more fortunate position,
he might have been a harmless and good-natured,
and perhaps even disposed to be a good man.
The time of sleep in the crop time, the may-
oral told us, was about four hours, a little more
or less.* Those who worked at night in the
boiling-house worked also next day in the field.
They had two meals a day. They had tassajo
(sun-dried beef of the Brazils, with very little
nutritious matter in it, extremely hard, ill-fla-
* In the month of July, 1839, a friend of mine visited this
estate, the Olanda ; the total number of negroes on the property had
been then reduced to eighty, and still the working gang was forty ! ! !
The time of sleep in crop time, the same mayoral told him, was
from three to four hours.
160 SUGAR BSTATBS.
Toured, and worse scented) for one meal, and six
plantains and some Indian com for the other.
On our return, our negro guide told us " that
Tngenio (sugar estate) was a very bad one. They
were very bad to the negroes there. Four months
ago, the mayoral had a man flogged, and the
flogging went on till the poor slave died." He
further informed us that the authorities at Guines
made a judicial investigation, ordered the body
of the murdered negro to be disinterred, and
examined by medical men (the planters' doctors of
the district), who found, of course, no traces of in-
jury to any vital organ, from the scourging under
which the slave died, and no further proceedings
consequently were taken against the mayoral. It
was only one more murder of a slave, committed
with impunity, to be added to the long list of
Spanish atrocities registered elsewhere, and, as
surely as the sun shines at noon-day, destined to
bring down the wrath of heaven on the nation
whose Government sufiers and sanctions such
violations of all law divine and human.
On the estate of Olanda crop time lasted four
months ; it began in January, and ended in May.
The mill was moved by water-power. The pro-
prietor was an absentee — like most of his class, an
embarrassed man ; the property was mortgaged ;
involved in law proceedings, the produce went
chiefly to the lawyers ; the management was bad ;
the treatment of the slaves inhuman, the sole
object of the administrador being, to get the
utmost amount of labour in a given time out of
the greatest number of slaves that could be
MATANZAS, CARDENAS, ETC. 161
worked day and ni^t, without reference to their
health or strength, age or sex, or to the future
interests of the possessor of the property.
The appearance of the negroes on this estate
was wretched in the extreme ; they looked jaded
to death, listless, stupified, haggard, and ema-
ciated : how diflFerent from the looks of the pam-
pered, petted, well-fed, idle, domestic slaves of
the Dons of the Havana ! The clothing of the
Olanda negroes was old and ragged, — of the
coarsest sacking stuff. They lived here in huts,
near the Ingenio, but very miserable places, unfit
for the habitation of wild beasts that it might be
thought desirable to keep in health or comfort.
MATANZAS, CARDENAS, AGUINILLAS, AND LIMONAL.
On the 18th of May, 1837, I embarked on
board the Tacon steam-boat, at the Havana, for
Matanzas, Cardenas, Aguinillas, and Limonal.
Matanzas is sixty miles distant from the
Havana — (the fare, six dollars.)
Matanzas is a large, well-built town, beautifully
situated on the St. Yumuri and St. John rivers,
containing 25,000 inhabitants. There is but one
church, having four priests, each of whom has the
spiritual wants of 6,000 souls to attend to. There
is no monastery here, and as for religion, there
is not an affectation of being considered mindful
that such a thing as Christianity exists. The
church is deserted, but the gaol is full.
While the lieutenant-governor was paying me
a visit, word was brought to him that the prisoners
162 MATANSASy CARDENAS, ETC.
had stabbed the alcadi, or gaoler, attacked the
soldiers, and were then fighting with the guards.
His excellency, with all the composure and
formal etiquette of true Spanish politeness,
begged me to excuse him, and instantly walked
off to the prison with his attendants. The next
morning, I found everything quietly settled ; five
or six of the prisoners were stabbed — several
slightly wounded — two mortally. Some of the
former, in the course of the day, were working in
chains on one of the roads. The chains of the
prisoners at the working gang, at Matanzas, were
far heavier than those used in Havana.
The census of Matanzas, in 1836, made the
population of the town and country, 64,811 ; of
which number there were 19,796 whites ; free-
coloured, 3,971 ; slaves, 31,045 ; and of the latter,
21,210 were males, and 9,836 females. So that
the latter formed rather less than one-half of the
number of the male slaves.
The name of Matanzas was derived, according
to Quintana (vidas de Espanoles Celebres, p. 264),
from a massacre of some Spaniards in that part
of Cuba, which had been brought to the know-
ledge of Las Casas by a Spaniard, whom the
Apostle of the Indies liberated from captivity
among the Indians. This man gave him an
account of his capture, and the massacre of
several of his countrymen, at a place which, on
that account, was called Matanzas, '^ por este caso
se llamo at Matanzas los Indias en cuyos canoas
los mataron."
I proceeded from Matanzas to Cardenas by the
BEJUGAL AND SAN ANTONIO. 163
Steam-boat. The fare to Cardenas is five dollars,
the distance about forty-five miles.
Cardenas is a new town, counting 1,200 inha-
bitants; there is a theatre, but no church — ^the
former was commenced about five years ago;
the site, a mangrove swamp ; there is plenty of
water in the streets, and a great deficiency in the
harbour. The loading ships are obliged to lie in
the offing, about seven miles from the town. Sla-
very here is the same as it is elsewhere in Cuba.
BEJUCAL AND SAN ANTONIO.
On the 23rd of December, 1838, I set out for
Bejucal, by railroad six leagues from the Havana,
and took a volante to St. Antonio, the same day,
a distance of three leagues from Bejucal. The
country between those towns is tolerably culti-
vated, the products are chiefly maize, yams,
yuccos, and edible fruits.
At St. Antonio, the population is about 3,000 —
they say there, 6,000 ; there are two schools. In
the summer it is a place of resort for the Havana
people, on account of its baths ; the river disap-
pears by a subterranean channel close to the town
— at a short distance a deep well, about sixty or
seventy feet deep, has been cut down upon its
current, where it flows rapidly — it appears again
about three leagues ofi*. The nearest sugar pro-
perty is about a league ofi* the cofiee property ;
there the river also makes its appearance. The
country about St. Antonio is picturesque ; in the
neighbourhood of the town there is nothing re-
markable. I could not procure horses to go on
164 BEJUCAL AND SAN ANTONIO.
to St. Marco ; the distance from St. Marco to St.
Antonio is six leagues. I returned to Bejucal,
and slept there, and the next day proceeded to visit
three sugar estates, about a league from the town.
The first is that of Don Francisco de la Luz,
called St. Anna ; there were ninety negroes, in
which number there were thirty women — they
made on that property 700 cases of sugar, eighty
bucoyes of molasses; the negroes were allowed
three meals a day. No rum was made on any of
the six sugar estates I visited — no distillation was
carried on. The mayoral said he was thirty
years in the family of Senhor de la Luz ; he seemed
a very good, humane man, and the negroes looked
well, and were well clothed in thick flannel shirts;
he said, that on no other estate was there three
meals a day, but here the negroes were well taken
care of, and S'** de la Luz was very particular
about the negroes hearing mass on Sundays and
fiSte days, and had a chaplain frequently there to
make the negroes say prayers. This was the
second estate only in the island that I heard of
having a chaplain. The priest of Bejucal con-
firmed this to me ; he said that Senhor de la Luz's
was the only estate he knew of having a chaplain —
that in crop time, if they were near a town where
there was a church, they might go there on a
Sunday, but not out of crop time. He told us
that they were baptised : my companion said —
"What! does it end there?" The priest laughed.
The food here consisted of Indian com, salt fish,
and tassajo, alternately, and plantains at night.
The time for skep^ he said, in crop time was three
BBJUCAL AND SAN ANTONIO. 165
hours. We remonstrated about the insufficiency
of sleep, he said they could not carry on the work
with less labour. Subsequently, after we left this
Quinta, Mr. T. and I differed about the three
hours' sleep. I determined on going back, and
returned with Mr. T.; we again put the question
as to the time of sleep the negroes were allowed,
and our informant then said that four hours was
the usual time of rest. The time of crop on this
estate was from three to three-and-a-half months*
We saw here one man in the stocks, his head was
in a broken piece of pottery — the stocks are in
the boiling house ; there was another man going
about heavily laden with chains.
The sugar estate of La Pita, belonging to the
Marquis San Felipe, we visited the same day,
24th December. There was on this property 161
negroes, of which forty-eight were women. 767
boxes of sugar were made last year ; this year
they expect to make 1000 boxes, on account of a
new steam engine put up for the purpose of
grinding the cane, of eighteen horse power. The
engineer, an Irishman, said, that with the steam
engine they could grind as much cane in twelve
hours, as they could without.it in twenty-four
hours, but it could not supersede night- work. We
saw the mayoral, and from him got the above
numbers ; he told us, that the last year there had
been five deaths and only one birth. Here they
had but two meals a day allowed. The time of
sleep in crop time was from four to four-and-a-
half hours.
The Irish, alas! I have invariably found, who are
t
166 BBJUCAL AND SAN ANTONIO.
employed in any shape, are advocates for slayeiy
in all its horrors. The mayor domo was present —
this man's office corresponds to our book-keepers
in Jamaica ; the mayoral is the steward of the
estate.
We visited a sugar estate of Senor Joakim
Cardenas. The mayoral was a surly, savage look-
ing fellow, with the implement of office in hand,
" the cart whip." He said there were a hundred
negroes on the property; they made last year 600
boxes of sugar. Deaths last year two, and there
was not one birth. Four hours were allowed for
sleep during crop time. The system in the boil-
ing house was far more imperfect, in point of
mechanical contrivance, than any I had seen in
Jamaica. The mill was moved by water-power.
The negroes resided in huts. Of the slaves thirty
were females.
The total number of females on the three estates
we visited amounted to 108 ; the total number of
men, 243.
We next visited the sugar estate of the Conde
de O'Reilly, "Alexandria." The Conde, who lives
in the Havana, is an absentee from his property,
like the owner of Olanda.
Here the works are splendid, and on an im-
mense scale ; the power of the mill, water, like
that of the Olanda, the aqueduct one thousand
varas long. The mayoral was accompanied by
another person, apparently a mayoral of some
adjacent property; he was an extremely civil,
well-informed, frank, rational man, far superior
Jik class in Jamaica. It is fit to remember
BEJUCAL AND SAN ANTONIO. 167
that the mayoral, though generally called and re-
garded by us as an overseer, is more in the light
of a resident attorney on the estate, who keeps
the accounts, records the produce, orders the sup-
plies from the owners at Havana — while the head
driver, or supervisor, the nearest approach to our
Jamaica "book-keeper" (who keeps no books),
superintends the labour of the field, and in the
boiling house. On each estate there is generally
one mayoral. The crop time lasted, on this estate,
four months — from the 10th January to the 10th
of May, at Alexandria. There was one death
here the last year.
The mayorals are all Spaniards, the Creoles of
the same rank and class being generally so un-
educated, even in the first elements of knowledge,
as to be incapable of filling this office.* Alexan-
dria has 102 negroes, about thirty-five only fit for
hard work ; in crop time they hire thirty more ;
the soil is worn out. They make 1,000 boxes of
sugar, formerly considerably more. The reason
given for this falling ofi*, was want of hands. I
asked if the Conde sold off the negroes ? My
informant said, " No, the Conde was in debt ; he
did not sell any off, but he bought no new ones."
Now this property formerly produced more than
double the amount of sugar, and here was a plain
proof, not only that there was no increase by
births, but a very great decrease by deaths ; yet
the mayoral said that last year there was only one
death. Here, too, the negroes were in huts, not
in an enclosed yard. About the labour he said,
* Vide Delmonte's 'Report on Education in Cuba.
168 BBJUCAL AND SAN ANTONIO.
the negroes in crop time did not get much sleep.
I asked if that did not shorten their lives ? The
answer was, " sin duda," without doubt.
The Conde paid little attention to his estate,
and seldom came there. The alcadi at Guines
told me the same thing, and said, these gentlemen
think of nothing but their pleasures, gambling,
&c. &c. " This would be the richest district in the
island if the owners would live on their properties
and attend to them ; they do neither."
Further, he said of this class : " The proprietors
are the aristocracy of the Havana. Tacon made
war on them and their disorders, and they hated
him for it." I spoke to him about the three men
in the stocks at Olanda, who were confined for
two months, in the hope of his interfering. He
said they must be runaways or rogues, and there
could be no other way of securing them. That in
the gaol they were also obliged to put men into
the stocks, on account of the insecurity of the
place. I asked, was it legal to keep a man in
the stocks for two months ? He said, " the
negroes are protected by the laws, they cannot
get more than twenty-nine stripes." I said,
"but suppose they do get more, what is their
redress ?" " The law." " Who administers it in
such a case?" "The syndico," (his office cor-
responds to our protector of slaves.) I was on
the point of asking how were they to leave the
estate to seek the syndico, when the alcadi
timely, and with much tact, shifted the discourse.
Next day, the 13th, we set off for San Felipe
by railroad, and here took horses for Batabano,
BBJUCAL AND SAN ANTONIO. 169
three leagues distant ; and from this town to the
fishing hamlet bearing also the same name, one
league more. The distance is about twelve miles
to the sea from the railroad, the worst road (after
long rains) I ever travelled.
In this district there are several sugar and
cofiee estates which we passed — those of Man-
tillia, Conde, Canongo, Pedrosi, Massourah, &c.
The pueblo of Batabano is distant from the
place on the sea-coast bearing that name about
one league. It is an open roadstead, containing
about twenty-five huts of fishermen, and an en-
closed shed, denominated a fort, which has a
commandant, who told us his pay was forty-eight
doUars a month. There is also an alcadi di mar,
whose appointment must be a sinecure. The
commandant said that no slaves were landed now,
or since his time, at Batabano, but many at Bosario
and Ouanimar ; and, before his time, the com-
mandant used to send out boats to bring in the
Bozals, and had many perquisites this way. The
place is healthy, and no commerce except by a
few coasters to Trinidad, and the steam-boat
between these ports. On our return to the
pueblo of Batabano, I met the son of Senhor
Massourah and another lad. Massourah has a
splendid cofiee estate in the neighbourhood. The
lads rode with us, walked about the town, then
visited the school ; the only one here was recently
established by subscription, under the auspices of
the Patriotic Society. The salary of the school-
master is about fifty dollars a month. There
are twenty-five boys — no girls' school, nor any
I
170 BSJUCAL A9D SAX ASCTONIO.
school for coloured people. Here there is a
church.
Massoorah's son and his fiiend dined with as
at the inn. The son soon began telling as of all
the Tessels his &ther had in the slaye-trade — how
many he lost and expected daily.
This was the third time, by strange accident,
this man Massonrah was thrown into my hands.
About a year ago one of his Portuguese Guinea
captains entered my house at the Cerro, near the
Havana, being informed it was the country resi-
dence of Massourah. He told me the driver of
his volante had led him all over the Cerro, and
finally said that was Massourah's house ; he said
it was very unlucky being delayed in seeing him,
that he had just brought in the ** Dos Amigos,"
landed a cargo of Bozals, and had most luckily
escaped being taken by a cruiser.
I turned the conversation ; we dined together.
Their friend, an Italian gentleman, who accom-
panied them and us to Batabano for some miles,
was about one of the most dissolute men I ever
conversed with. He said that his brother had
recently married a young wife, whom we had
been previously taken to see by the young men ;
had abandoned the woman he lived with, and
married the sister; and on our questioning the
propriety of this step, he said something about
custom.
We quitted Batabano after having visited the
school. There were about twenty-five white
scholars. There is no school there for femal^.
The schoolmaster's pay is fifty dollars a month.
BEJUOAL AND SAN ANTONIO. 171
To avoid an invitation to breakfast at Mas-
sourah's, we took a different homeward route.
Previously to departure, I had some hours' in-
structive conversation with a Frenchman, Mons.
Bonhomme, settled near Trinidad, at Cien Fuego.
He said, in two years, twenty-seven new sugar
properties had been established there. The in-
surrection, which had taken place about a year
ago at Trinidad, he said was occasioned by the
hardships the negroes suffered on Mr« Baker's
property, in Trinidad, a hard master. On one
estate of his "there was not a single female."
The insurgents were the slaves of his estate and
an adjoining one, and they amounted to 600;
their intention was to seize the barracks at
Trinidad and disarm the soldiers. This intention
was frustrated by a disclosure made by a female
slave to her master. Baker had just time to
escape with his life, after they had set fire to his
works. The insurgent slaves were attacked by
the soldiers. About fifty were taken and put to
death, the rest were hunted down eventually in
the woods. The number of slain was very great,
it was not known how many ; one white man
only was killed and a soldier.
The Frenchman's account of the labour of the
negroes was very different from that given us by
Mr. Garcia, of Ubajai, a large coffee-estate pro-
prietor, who stated that the time for sleep on
board ship and on a sugar estate was the same.
Bonhomme was then returning from Havana,
after defending himself from proceedings unjustly
taken against him for having entertained at his
i2
172 BBJUGAL AND SAN ANTONIO.
house a man who turned out to be a deserter, but
which circumstance he was not aware of. After
an absence of several months from his business,
he established his innocence. The cost of proving
himself innocent amounted to 2,000 dollars, and
about 600 for his expenses at the Havana. He
was about to quit the country in disgust. He
had a saw-mill at Cien Fuego, and had made a
moderate fortune.
At the CafFetal called the Uva, between Bata-
bano and San Felipe, we stopped to visit the
estate. We were very well received by the pro-
prietor. He had thirty working negroes ; made
550 quintals of coffee ; 70,000 trees, producing
i lb. a tree (in Jamaica they reckon about 2 lbs. a
tree). This small amount of produce might arise
from the system at Uva, allowing the trees to
grow their natural height, not topping them at
about five feet, as in Jamaica, and in not removing
any of the under stems or foliage. In the young
plants I observed the proprietor carefully removed
the second ratoon, leaving one stem only.
He confirmed Bonhomme's account about the
labour on a sugar estate; on his own Caffetal,
he said, the negroes rose at four, worked till
mid-day, again worked from one to eight ; but
when it was " clara de la lune," they worked tiD
ten, and sometimes later. This would give about
fifteen and occasionally sixteen hours' labour.
But it was evident, from what he said afterwards,
the slaves sometimes had but four hours' sleep.
They (the negroes) required, he said, three or four
hours' sleep, not more; and if they had more time.
BSJUCAL AND SAN ANTONIO. 173
they would not employ it in sleep, they would go
out wandering or stealing. But, I said, would
they not die rather fast? He said, on sugar
estates, without doubt, many do die. This account
80 startled us, and especially Mr. T , that
he could not credit it. We cross-examined him,
but our earnestness evidently attracted his atten-
tion, and put him on his guard; he unsaid almost
every thing he had previously said. Never-
theless, what he stated was the truth, as to the
labour, and the mode of reasoning about the
necessary amount of sleep usual with planters.
On the 14th of December, we visited the large
sugar property of Senor Mantillia, called Los
Honores, about a league from San Felipe.
211 negroes. 2000 boxes sugar, last year. The
mayoral tpld^us this ; he did not accompany us
over the works. Mill not going ; four or five
months the duration of crop time. Cattle power;
two mills; an improvement for returning the canes.
We had previously visited Don Antonio Gar-
cia's property at Ubajai, but met him at Marianon,
where he then was staying ; he gave an account
of his coflTee estate,— 200,000 trees; 110 men;
1,300 quintals of coffee— produce, two-thirds of a
pound per tree ; food, for each man, two meals a
day, consisting of one pound of tassajo, twelve
plantains, one pound yaccos or yams. The slaves
went to work at four in the morning, and worked
till twelve— then dined, and had one hour free ;
at one p.m. went to the field, and worked till
eight, being 15 hours' daily labour. Deaths,
5 per cent., but on sugar properties the mortality
174 BBJUGAL AND SAN ANTONIO.
and labour were much greater. He stated that
the time for sleep oh a sugar estate was the same
as in our navy. His account of labour on a sugar
estate, in crop time, was as follows : — In the field,
From 4 a. m. to 12 mid-day . . 8 hours' labour.
„ 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. .• .. 5 „
„ 6 „ to 8 „ •• ..2 „
„ 8t ,9 to 12 midnight ..4 „
19 hours' labour.
Now, from mid-day to one o'clock is the time
for food, consequently, four hours— namely, from
midnight to four o'clock in the morning, — is the
time for sleep. There are two sections for the
boiling-house ; out of crop time, he said, the
negroes had about eight hours' sleep; but this
was evidently untrue.
In discussing this point with Bonhomme, in re-
ply to a question put to him by me, respecting the
time of setting slaves to work on sugar estates in
general, the reply was : — " On an estate where the
number of slaves is 300, it is usual to assemble them
at the Ingenio at three o'clock in the morning, and
sometimes at two. They are employed there, in
cleaning the court-yards and workhouses, and
preparing for the day's work, for about an hour
and a half. They then proceed to the field, and
work till twelve at noon. They have an hour
then allowed for dinner, which consists of plan-
tains and tassajo (dried beef) — three generally of
the former, and from six to eight ounces of the
latter. At one they are set to work again, and
continue at it till eight in the evening. They
* Light work about mill-house. f ^ into boiling-house.
BEJUCAL AND SAN ANTONIO. 175
then finish that day's work by cutting and carry-
ing to the Ingenio grass, for the cattle of the
estate. They then go to their huts (about half-
past eight.) This is the routine out of crop time^
and on estates where proprietors are not hard
men; but where the latter are severe, and the
labour is required, the slaves will be worked later
than eight o'clock (the moon serving for work),
and they will be set to work at two the following
morning. So that on " good estates," out of crop
time, the slaves, provided they take no time for
a second meal — ^when they go to their huts at
half-past eight, and are allowed to rest till three
in the morning — ^have six-and-a-half hours for
sleep. But on "bad estates" — and nine-tenths
of the Ingenios are owned or managed by " hard
men " — slaves, out of crop time, have four hours
and a half sleep allowed them. The average
time, for seven months in the year, may be stated
at five hours and a half. In crop time there is less
time allowed, and this period occupies generally
five months out of the twelve. The average time
for sleep, then, on all sugar estates, is four hours.
In themill-house (duringcrop) there are twospell
gangs of slaves, called " quartillas," attendant on
the mill and boilers, and the whole gang is divided
into four gangs. They are generally put on, in
the boiling-house, and at the mill, in batches of
twenty-five at a time. Those who go at eight
o'clock in the evening work till twelve. They
9leep till four in the morning, when they are sent
oflF to the field, and worked as field-labourers all
day, till eight in the evening ; or they take alter-
176 BEJUCAL AND SAN ANTONIO.
nate spells of day or night work in the boiling-
house and at the mill ; but this does not alter the
time for work. The usual time of labour in crop
time, on all sugar estates, is twenty hours.
An overseer, who was present when this account
was given, subsequently said : — ^^ In this part of
the country the slaves, who work in the boiling-
house (in crop time), are not taken indiscrimi-
nately from the working field-gang. Those who
are boilers are usually kept in the boiling-hoa<ie
six or eight hours at a spell ; but, with the excep-
tion of the customary time for rest, they are em-
ployed otherwise on the works in or about the
buildings, but not in the field.
The regular course is to relieve the men at the
boilers four times a day — at noon, at six o'clock
in the evening ; at midnight, at six o'clock in the
morning.
There are generally a tenth part of the slaves
of a sugar estate, in crop time, constantly at
work in the boiling-house — say thirty out of 300
slaves.
This account gives a very erroneous idea of the
labour exacted from slaves in crop time. No
notice is taken of the slaves attendant on the
mill — the drivers of the oxen, the carriers of the
cane, the feeders of the mill, the removers of the
crushed cane.
The statement, to my certain knowledge, is
false, that the men employed in the boiling-house
at night, or part of the night, are not worked in
the field in the day.
177
A SUGAR ESTATE NEAB THE HAVANA.
The 23rd of January, 1838, I visited a sugar
estate, nine miles from the Havana, "Jesus
Maria," belonging to the Conde de San Fernando,
a minor. It was managed by the Conde de Pe-
valner. There were on this property 303 negroes ;
they made, the last year, 2,000 boxes of sugar.
This year they expected to make 2,000. The
works were larger than any that I had seen in
Jamaica; there were two mills and two sets of
boilers. The overseer said that each man had
eighteen hours' constant work in the sugar-house ;
one slept from seven o'clock in the evening to
midnight ; another, from midnight to gunfire, at
four o'clock in the morning. My impression was
that the latter was on alternate nights for each ;
80 that, instead of eighteen hours only being left
for labour, there was for each man, on one day,
nineteen hours' labour, and on the next, twenty
hours. There were then nineteen men employed
at the boilers ; the only time for refreshment was
three quarters of an hour, at one o'clock, being
the only meal the estate allowed them ; " any-
thing else, they picked up themselves, as they
could." The negroes, though fat, seemed the
worse for want of sleep ; they looked haggard
and exhausted ; there were no marks of flogging
on any of the negroes' backs. There was a large
square building near the works for the male
negroes.
I 3
178
AGRICULTURE OF CUBA.
Breeding Farms. — Haciendas de Crianza.
Generally speaking, those farms are by no
means in a prosperous condition, and this arises
chiefly from the yast extent of the lands, bad cal-
tiyation, and improvident management of the
proprietors. The landlords are accustomed to
rent out these properties, with the stock upon
them, at the rate of two or three dollars a head,
for a term of five years, with an obligation to
leave the property in good condition, and to
account for the stock which was on it when let ;
aU the increase during the term belonging to the
tenant, and all the expenses.
Expenses,
DoUan.
Salaries of eight overseers, Monteros y
Cabaneros, at 200 dollars each 1^600
Salt, four Lanegas 89
Utensils, Machetes, ke 20
Rent 6,000
Alcabala tax on sale 390
Totaldollars 6,090
Which, deducted from the net proceeds of sale of
increase, 6,500, leaves a yearly profit of 590
doUars.
The number of breeding farms in Cuba is
7,339, and the quantity of land occupied by
Potreros^ farms on which vegetables are raised,
maize, mallochia grass, cassava, onions, garlic,
poultry, wax and honey, about 10,952 caballeiros.
The capital invested in properties is estimated
TOBACCO PLANTATIONS. 179
at 21,691,610 dollars, which yields about ten
per cent.
Those calculations, though not founded on
indisputable data, may be considered a yery near
approximation to the truth.
Of the farm, the tithes and taxes on the sale of
produce fall upon the latter.
The details of a farm of this kind are thus
given by Sagra: 200 head of cattle are supposed
to give 400 calves a year ; from which number
deducting 100 for tithes and casualties, leaves 300
from one to three years old, at twenty dollars
a head, yielding 6,000 dollars.
Five hundred swine, which on account of the
precarious nature of this kind of stock, and
making the deductions specified in the former
case, may leave 100 for sale every year, at five
dollars a head — say, 500 dollars ; supposing the
tenant sells all the increase on the property, the
whole amount of sales is 6,500 dollars.
TOBACCO PLANTATIONS
Of the Vuelta Ahajo District^ westward of Havana,
The district of the " Vuelta de Abajo," which
is about twenty-eight leagues in length, and
seven in breadth, to the westward of the Havana,
is celebrated for the growth of the best tobacco
in the island — the natives say, in the world ; but I
cannot think that the tobacco of Salonica or Syria
can be easily excelled or equalled. The land in
this district is worth 1,000 dollars, and a fine, or
regalia of six ounces. The vegas of Corroga, on
the borders of the river San Sebastian, yield the
180 TOBACCO PLANTATIONS.
best tobacco in the island. The mildness or
strength of the flavour of the tobacco is influ-
enced by the process of cultivation, by repressing
the growth, or favouring the determination of
juice to the leaves, which is called ^' desbotonar
las Matas y descoyoUar ;" which process, and
the graduation of the distance between the
plants, more than any peculiarity in the bine,
seems to influence the strength or mildness of the
tobacco.
There were, in 1830, in all 5,334 yegas, or
tobacco plantations. A caballeria of land yields
about 360 arrobas of leaf. In 1827, the crop
amounted to 600,000, and the quantity of land
laid out in tobacco cultivation was 2,778 cabal-
lerias. A well-cultivated plantation requires
twenty labourers, and four yoke of oxen.
The total amount of capital employed in these
plantations, according to Sagra, is 6,532,420
dollars; the total number of negroes, 7,927;
and the net gain, on the capital invested, six per
cent.
The export duty on tobacco in leaf, in foreign
vessels, is 12^ ; in Spanish vessels, for foreign
portsi 6i ; and in Spanish vessels, for Spanish
ports, 2 J^ ; and on tobacco, in cigars, four reals per
1,000. To which duties is to be added, one per
cent, on the duties for the balanza, and the new
impost on all produce of one-seventh part of the
duty, which is a war-tax.
The tobacco factors tell me, a man can make
from eight hundred to a thousand cigars a day.
A white man earns at this work from twelve reaJs
TOBACCO PLANTATIONS. 181
to eighteen a day. Of regalias a man, however,
cannot make more than a third part of this num-
ber in the day.
Since Sagra's work was published, in 1830, the
cultivation of tobacco must have considerably in-
creased. Sagra's estimate of the entire produce of
the island is too low. Any person acquainted with
Cuba will hardly question the assertion — that, de-
ducting a third from the population of the island,
the daily consumption for the remainder cannot be
estimated at less than five cigars for each individual.
I estimate the entire population at one million ;
from which amount — for children, the better class
of white women in towns, the sick, and slaves in
the country (who have not the means of procuring
tobacco in the quantity it is obtained by those of
their class in the towns) — I deduct one-third ; this
leaves the number 666,667. Now 1,000 cigars
weigh seven pounds ; consequently, the daily con-
sumption is 23,335 lbs., or 341 ,000 arrobas a year ;
and yet Sagra averages the entire crop at 360,000
arrobas. That his calculation is under the mark
I have no doubt.
If a stranger were brought to Cuba, who had
never seen the practice of cigar smoking, and was
ignorant of the manners and customs of the people,
he would think that smoking was the great busi-
ness of life in that island. The priest, the lawyer,
the physician, the merchant, the planter and his de-
pendants, the women as well as the men — the
ladies alone of the highest rank excepted— children
even pf seven and ten years of age, the slaves in
the towns — nay even in their beds — the free people
182 TOBACCO PLANTATIONS.
of colour especially, and rarely is a mechanic
among them to be seen without a cigar in his
mouth — all smoke, and make a business of smok-
ing; and ten, and even twelve cigars a day is
no uncommon consumption for a slave in the
Havana.
The cigars the lower orders smoke cost about
four dollars a thousand, which is not above six-
pence for thirty-one cigars. From the same quality
of tobacco, the first, second, and third class of
cigars are made. When the cigars are tvnsted,
and before they are sorted, they are said to be
" en revolucion."
They are now sorted and picked, and about
twenty-five per cent, of the whole are chosen, and
these are called of the first class ; the rest are di-
vided into seconds and thirds, and the prices vary
from eight to fifteen dollars a thousand. There
is a duty of five reals on a thousand on exporta-
tion.
APPENDIX.
No. I.
PBOGBESS OF EFFORTS IN GREA.T BRITAIN FOR THE
SUPPRESSION OF THE SLAVE-TRADE, AND WITH
FOREIGN POWERS, FOR THAT OBJECT.
In 1788, the first systematic efforts against the slave-trade
in the British Parliament were made under the most unfa-
vourable circumstances. The advocates of the profitable traffic
in flesh and blood managed to defeat the object of the Com-
mittee of Inquiry that was appointed, by procrastinating
the examination of witnesses session after session, for three
years. The bill brought forward by Mr. Wilberforce, in
1789, was thrown out. In 1790, the latter renewed his
efibrts, brought forward another series of propositions con-
denmatory of the slave-trade, and this attempt ended in the
revival of a former effort of Sir W. Dolben to regulate the
carrying trade. A bill for this purpose was introduced, and
the first reading carried in the Commons by a majority of
23 to 18 ; but the following day, on the motion of Mr.
Fox, it was rejected by 96 to 69.
In 1791, Wilberforce's renewed motion for the introduc-
tion of a bill for the abolition of the slave-trade was nega-
tived by a majority of 76, after " the most brilliant debate
on that question that was ever heard in the house."
In 1792, several great naval men, who were examined
before the Committee obtained by Wilberforce, gave evi-
dence in favour of the slave-trade and slave-trading. Lord
Rodney's evidence against the abolition, and also Admiral
Hotham*8, was much relied on by the advocates of the trade.
In 1792, also, Wilberforce renewed his anti-slave-trade mo-
tion ; the amendment of Dundas, that the word '' gradual"
should precede that of " abolition" was carried by a ma-
jority of 68.
184 APPENDIX.
In a subsequent debate, Dundas moved a series of reso-
lutions respecting the slave-trade, the chief of which was,
that the importation of slaves into the British dominions
should cease on the 1st January, 1800 ; an amendment was
moved by Lord Momington that it should cease 1st January,
1798, but rejected by a majority of 49. Another amend-
ment of Sir £. Knatchbull, fixing the period the 1st of
January, 1796, was carried by a majority of 40 in the
Commons, but was lost in the Lords. On this occasion the
Duke of Clarence first distinguished himself by his zealous
advocacy of the slave-trade.
In 1793, Wilberforce, finding he could not then effect the
abolition, undertook to ameliorate the traffic. He obtained
leave for bringing in a bill for this purpose. A second
motion of his, to prevent the supply of foreign countries
with slaves, was carried, but the bill on the third reading
was lost by a majority of 31 against 29.
In the same year the Duke of Clarence, in debate on the
question, ^^ again appeared,'' says the Annual Register,
1793, ^' as the strenuous advocate of this nefarious traffic.
He went so far as to assert that the promoters of the abo-
lition measures were either fanatics or hypocrites, in one of
which classes he ranked Mr. Wilberforce, from the influence
of delusion."
In 1807, Lord St. Vincent, in debate on the bill for the
abolition of the slave-trade, denounced that measure in the
strongest language. Lord Nelson, the same year, wrote
to Mr. Simon Taylor, from the Victory, denouncing hos-
tility to the slave-trade as a " damnable and cursed doc-
trine." " I have ever been," said his lordship, " and shall
die a firm friend of the colonial system. I was bred, you
know, in the good old school, and taught to appreciate the
value of our West Indian possessions ; and neither in the field
nor in the senate shall I ever forget them, nor shall their
interests be infringed while I have an arm to fight in their
defence, or a tongue to launch my voice against the damnable
and cursed doctrines of * * * * and his hypocritical
allies." — Annual Register, 1807, pa^e 113.
From 1793 to 1807, the efforts of Clarkson were annually
APPENDIX. 185
renewed in Parliament| and defeated. But the question
gained ground. Clarkson's labours throughout the country
were successful, and were more advantageous to the cause
of humanity than those of all its advocates in the senate put
together.
In 1807, Parliament abolished the slave-trade. The
people had condemned the crime of the State. ^^ There is
a law above all the enactments of human codes. It is a law
written by the finger of God in the heart of man ; and by
that law unchangeable and eternal, while men despise fraud^
and loathe rapine, and abhor blood, they shall reject with
indignation the wild and guilty fentasy, that man can hold
property in man.'*
The law of 1811 made it felony for British subjects^ or
persons residing in British territories, to aid or abet the
slave-trade, to be employed on board of slave vessels as
masters, captains, mates, or supercargoes ; and a misdemea-
nour for all petty officers and seamen similarly employed.
No. II.
PBOGBESS OF EMANCIPATION IN AMERICA, NOBTH AND
SOUTH.
Unitbd States.
Vermont Slavery abolished 1777
Pennsylvania „ 1780
Massachusetts „ 1780
Connecticut ,, 1784
Rhode Island „ 1784
New Hampshire „ 1784
New York „ 1799
New Jersey »» 1804
South America.
Mexico Slavery abolished. . 1829
Buenos Ayres ,, . . 1816
Columbia
Chili
Bolivia
Peru, Guatemala, Montevideo
Uruguay
1821
1821
1826
1828
1843
186
APPENDIX.
No. III.
SLAYERY IN AMEBICA.
In 1770, the ilaye population of the United
States was 480,000
In 1790 r 676,696
In 1820 1,538,128
In 1830 2,001,320
In 1839 (estunatedby Clay) 3,000,000
Mr. Clay, in a speech on the slave-question, in February,
1839, said, " The increase since 1830 had been at the rate
of ^ye per cent., and he calculated the present number at
three millions.
'^ In forty years, from 1790 to 1830, the total increase had
been 1,334,624; in that space the slave population had
tripled."
The census of 1841 makes the number of slaves 2,483,536,
and free people of colour 386,069. I am inclined to believe
the census underrates considerably the number of slaves ; or
at all events, that the present number of slaves, in 1848,
existing in the States, does not fall short of three millions,
exclusive of those in Texas, which may be estimated at
from 60,000 to 70,000.
No. IV.
SLAVE AND FREE POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES,
By the Census qflBil.
States and Territoriei.
Slayec.
Free coloured
persons.
Whites.
Maine ..••
Vermont
1
1
3
1,357
730
707
537
8.668
17,342
550,438
291,218
211,560
284,036
729,000
1,502,122
Michi&[an. ^ - ^ "
N. Hampshire
Masfiachusetts
Ohio
Carried forward..
6
29,341
3,568,374
APPENDIX.
187
States and Territories.
Slaves.
Free coloured
persons.
Whites.
Brought forward. .
Indiana
6
3
4
5
8
16
18
64
331
674
2,605
4,694
19,935
25,559
58,240
89,495
165,219
182,072
183,059
195,211
245.817
253,532
280,844
327,038
448,987
29,341
7,165
50,027
3,238
178
8,105
153
48,754
3,698
21,044
16,919
4,361
465
820
1,574
62,020
24,368
7,309
5,554
1,366
22,732
2,039
2,753
8,279
49,482
3,568,374
678,698
2,378,890
105,587
30,566
301,856
42,864
1,676,115
472,354
351,588
58,561
30,657
77,174
27,728
323,888
317,717
153,983
587,542
640,627
179,074
484,870
335,185
407,695
259,084
740,968
New York
Rhode Island
Wisconsin
Conpecticiit ..........
Iowa
PennsvlYania .... ....
Illinois
New Jersey
Delaware
D. of Columbia
Arkansas
Florida Ter
Missouri
Maryland ............
LiOuisiana ............
Kentucky
Tennewwe ■r-^'-.. ......
North Carolina
Greorgia
South Carolina
Virg;ini« ..............
2,483,536
386,069
14,181,575
SLAVES IN
Texas 75,000
South America. — Columbia 152,000
Brazil 2,500,000
Peru 284,773
Surinam 55,000
Cayenne 16,140
West Indies Spanish Colonies 600,000
French ditto 170,603
Danish ditto 38,000
Dutchditto 17,000
Swedish ditto 5,248
6,397,300
The number of slaves, however, in the Argentine Republic,
and some other States in South America, is not included in
188 APPENDIX.
the above statement, for want of necessary information on
the point.
Africa.— In the French colony of Senegal, the number
of slaves in 1839 was 10,096 ; in that of Bourbon (Indian
Ocean) 63,195. Of the number of slaves in the Portuguese
and Dutch settlements in Africa there is no account on
which a correct statement could be founded.
Asia. — In the Dutch East Indies it is computed there are
80,000 negro slaves ; in the Portuguese and French settle-
ments in the East, slaves are also said to exist ; but it is in
British India principally that this gigantic evil has attained
its most fearfid height.
No. V.
STATISTICS OP SLAVBHY AND 8LAVB-TRADB IN 1847.
By Christian powers annually enslaved 100,000
By Mahommedan powers 50,000
170.000
Destroyed in enslaving 75,000
Annual loss to Africa ....; 225,000
It may be safely computed that one half perish in the
seizure, march, and detention on the African coast.
One fourth of those embarked perish in the middle passage.
One fifth of those landed in the Spanish colonies and Brazils
die in the seasoning during the first year ; so that, out of
100 Africans captured in their own country, at the expira-
tion of a year, twenty of them only will be in existence,
doomed to interminable slavery.
Sir T. F. Buxton estimated the numbers enslaved every
year in the Western slave colonies and countries,
and imported from Africa for that purpose, at 120,000
The numbers destroyed in capture, removal, detention
on the coast, and seasoning in the slave colonies . . 255,000
375,000
Numbers enslaved for Mahommedan slave countries,
and similarly destroyed in capture, &c 100,000
Total annual loss to Africa 475,000
APPENDIX. 189
AJrican Slave-trade since 1808 to 1840.
Carried away to the Brazils 2,500,000
Ditto to Spanish colonies 1,000,000
Ditto to the French colonies, Mexico, and
the United States 500,000
Captured and liherated, and dead after
capture 250,000
4,250,000
The slave-trade, Buxton states (besides its living victims
consigned to slavery), requires the continual daily sacrifice
of 1000 human beings, for the benefit of the Christian civi-
lised worshippers of Mammon.* I believe the number
above stated is exaggerated, but if he had included the loss
to Africa occasioned by the Mahommedan slave-trade^ it
would not be much too high.
The modern system of slavery has now existed upwards of
three centuries ; of the millions who have been carried into
slavery, there exist about six millions of Africans who are
slaves, and their descendants, in bondage, in countries ruled
by Christian and civilised powers.
' No. VI.
SUGAR AND COFFEE.
Exported from Cuba, Jrom 1836 to 1840, calculated in arrobas,
four qf which are equal to one cwt.
Sugar. Coffee.
Arrobas. Arrobas.
1826 to 1830 6,508,138.... 1,718,865
1830 to 1835 7,893,567 .... 1,995,832
1835 to 1840 10,166,555 .... 1,877,646
* In referring to a matter of difference of opinion with the late
Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, which was the subject of frequent
communication with the latter, I take this opportunity of bearing
testimony to the worth and singleness of mind of that most excel-
lent gentleman. I never knew any person engaged in this cause
more entirely devoted to it for its own sake and it alone.
1 90 APPENDIX.
From 1830 to 1846, the exports are only given from the
two principal ports of the island — Havana and Matanzas.
The exports from the south of the island, from St. Jago,
Cien Fuegos, and Trinidad, may probahly amount to one-
sixth part of those of Havana and Matanzas.
The exports of sugar from the two last-named ports, from
1830 to 1846, the following returns (of the number of boxes
exported) show have very nearly doubled :* —
Harana. Matanzas. TotaL
1830.... 303,341 141,138 444,479
1831.... 276,329 126,560 402,889
1832.... 298,801 142,886 441,687
1833.... 284,955 144,030 428,982
1834.... 283,164 175,582 458,746
1835.... 306,007 185,553 491,560
1836.... 810,208 189,945 500,152
1837.... 316,834 191,117 607,961
1838.... 373,920 236,592| 610,512^
1839 .... 329,762^ 194,043 523,806*
1840.... 444,324 263,215 707,539
1841.... 434,464 261,967 696,431
1842.... 415,465 260,766 676,231
1843.... 429,003* 270,692 699,695*
1844.... 528,778* 299,189 827.967*
1845 .... 256,556i 99,436 355,992*
1846.... 505,983 289,112 795,095
The exports of coffee for the whole island were, in 1840,
2,197,771 arrobas; in 1841, 1,280,920* arrobas. We have
not the complete details for subsequent years, but the exports
in the past two years were : —
1845. 1846.
Arrobas. Arrobas.
From Havana 160,668* .... 298,900
From Matanzas 10,325 .... 21,817
170,993* 320,717
* The Cuban box of sugar averages about 400 lbs.
APPENDIX. 191
No. VII.
LATE ACCOUNTS OF SLAVE-TRADING IN CUBA AND
THE BBAZILS.
From the Slave-trade Papers for 1846 we make the
following extracts, which will show the recent movements
of the slave-trade. The commissioners at Sierra Leone
say, that " The Cuban slave-trade, which, under the honour-
able administration of General Yaldez, had been almost
annihilated, has latterly been revived to a very lamentable
extent." In reference to the Brazilian slave-trade they ob-
serve, that '^The number of vessels engaged in it exceeds
that in any previous year since this British and Brazilian
Mixed Court came into operation ;'' and they add, '' It is
probable, also, that the list of Spanish vessels would have
been even larger than it is, but for the temporary depressing
effect which recent disturbances amongst the slave popula-
tion of Cuba has had in creating a want of confidence on
the part of the slave-factors on this coast, and deterring
them from making large shipments to the Spanish colonies
on speculation." They further observe, notwithstanding
'^ the activity of the increased squadron," and ^^ the addition
of effective steam vessels to the cruisers on this coast," "still
we believe that the slave-trade is increasing, and that it is
conducted, perhaps, more systematically than it has ever
been hitherto." The same authority says, ^' Nearly all the
former noted slave-haunts appear to be slill frequented ; and,
in spite of the stringent measures adopted by the British
commodore, with the powerful force under his command,
there can be no question but that there has been a very large
number of slaves transported both to Cuba and Brazil.^'
Her Majesty's commissary-judge at the Havana, after
stating the fact that 10,000 slaves had been introduced into
Cuba, during the year 1844, observes, "Great, however, as
this number may be considered, I regret to have to state
that, if it has not amounted to the average of the importa-
tions in the years previous to the administration of General
Valdez, the cause must be ascribed to the smaller demand for
192 APPENDIX.
slaves, rather thaii to the diminished activity of the dealers,
or prohibitory measures of the government*' Speaking of the
slave-traffickers, he says, <' If it suited their interests to send
vessels, I doubt whether they would be deterred by the fear
of the blockading squadron." Her Majesty's commissioners
at Rio remark, '* If all the arguments are good which are
brought forward to prove that the total suppression of slave-
importations would at once ruin the agricultural interests,
it must be conceded, that during the last four years those
interests have prospered, because the importation of slaves
has undeniably augmented on this part of the Brazilian
coast;" and they add, ^^ It would appear that there exists a
brisk demand in the inland districts, supplied from this sea-
port and others in its vicinity." The commissioners at
Sierra Leone write, that ^^ The trade still continues to be
carried on to a considerable extent from the Portuguese pos-
sessions in Mozambique ; and that, under whatever colours
the vessels engaged therein may sail, the negroes who are
carried off are destined for the ports of Brazil." Alluding
to the capture of slavers which had been made, they say,
" Of these vessels, eight were taken in the Mozambique, but
we believe that these cases are few in number, compared
with those which have succeeded in carrying off their
cargoes and landing them on the coast of Brazil ; and our
last accounts from Rio de Janeiro tend to confirm this belief,
as they mention that no less than thirty vessels were in pre-
paration for the eastern coast of Africa alone." The com-
missioners at Boa Vista, Cape de Verde, after stating that 12^
north of the line had been left unwatched, observe, " That
the slaves destined for Sherbro, or Gallinas, have been sent
with almost equal ease to the wholly neglected ports of Rio
Pongas, Cacheo, &c., and the losses of Pedro Blanco, and
the slave-dealers of the former places, have been counter-
balanced by the increased gains of Kyeten (Don Caitano
Nozzolini) at Bissao, and his confederates in the Cape de
Verde Islands."
The American and French squadrons employed on the
coast of Africa for the suppression of the slave-trade have
not proved very effectual for that purpose. The American
APPENDIX. 193
sqaadron can only capture vessels actually engaged in the
slave-trade bearing the United States flag. The French
squadron is restricted to the capture of vessels bearing the
French or the British flag. Referring to this point. Com-
modore Jones, in his reports to the Admiralty, says, *' In
carrying out the objects of the squadron, it has been found
necessary to rely entirely on our own resources, with little
or no reference to the assistance which might have been
looked for from the joint cruising with the foreign ships of
war which were expected to combine with us in the suppres-
sion of the slave-trade." "The French cruisers do not
appear to have made a single capture.'' . . . "The
American squadron employed on this station has made one
capture.'' The Commodore further says, that "French
merchant vessels act as carriers for cargoes of slave^goods
between Brazil and the factories on the coast. It is, how-
ever, the American vessels which more particularly aid, abet,
and even carry on the slave-trade." Between the 1st of
April, 1844, and 12th March, 1846, Commodore Jones's
returns show the capture of 115 slavers by the squadron
under his command.
THB CUBAN SLAVE-TIUIDB.
The following extracts from the " Report of Her Majesty's
Commissary Judge at Havana," dated January 1st, 1849,
give the latest information of the state and prospects of
Cuban slavery, and the trade and revenue of that colony.
" The circumstance of our not being able to obtain fuller
particulars of the expeditions affords a proof of the depressed
state of the trade, because the more contraband it becomes,
the more secret must be the operations carried on. So long
as any captain-general condescended to receive fees for the
introduction of newly imported Africans, the dealers cared
little for the publicity attending these transactions. But as
we have every reason to believe that the present Captain-
General Roncali, Conde de Alcoy, refuses to accept these
fees, the dealers have not the same security for carrying on
their trade with impunity, and are therefore obliged to be so
much the more reserved.
194 APPENDIX.
^^ It is but justice to repeat this of the Conde de Alcoy^ as
the general belief. Accordingly, the general system of the
Government is carried on in a manner above adl imputation
of former practices, but he is evidently indisposed to proceed
against the trade or its abettors with that severity which
would be the best means of effectually suppressing it. I
refer here to the case of the two vessels which, upon my
information, arrived in the neighbourhood in July last, when
130 newly introduced Africans were seized by the lieu-
tenant-Governor of Mariel. I believe my information of
two vessels having arrived correct, yet the captain-general
declared, in no measured terms, that only one vessel had
arrived ; leaving the conclusion to be drawn that he had
allowed himself to receive, as true, some statements made to
him to that effect, though a proper inquiry must, I think,
have led to a different result. But, supposing only one had
arrived, it was proved that it had met with a collusive
reception from the local authorities at Cabanas, as was
pointed out to his Excellency at the time, and no steps have
been taken against those authorities, nor against the parties
concerned in the adventure. The mate, who offered himself
as an informer against the parties, was put into prison ; but
the captain, who could have given evidence of the owners,
was allowed to go away in the steamer to New York^ with
the person Zulueta, on whose account the negroes were said
to have been brought, and a considerable number of the
negroes were given up to this Zulueta, under the pretence
of being assigned to him as emancipados.^'
Internal Suppty of Slave*,
<^ In my last annual report, dated the 1st of January, 1848,
and a former one,' I informed your lordship that though lately
a larger demand for slave labourhad arisen, on account of
the higher price of sugar, yet this demand had been met by
a supply of negroes from abandoned coffee plantations, to the
number then estimated of about 30,000. Since then, I learn
there has been a return made to this Government of the
number so transferred to sugar estates, estimated at 38,000.
This supply I should think sufficient for the necessities of
APPENDIX. 195
some years to come. The extraordinary demand that arose
last year, and the one preceding, for more labourers, was no
doubt on the expectation of continued high prices ; but with
the present prospects it must abate. The calculations also
formed last year, of the quantity of sugar to be made under
particular circumstances, have [in many cases proved erro-
neous, and the gains therefore have been less than what was
expected.
" In the year now concluded, very little rain has fallen
in the island, so that the canes have proved of inferior
quality, and it is supposed by many that the exports of this
year, 1849, will fall even thirty per cent, below those of the
past. Such being the case, as there are several estates on
which they do not grind at all this season, and all from
twenty to thirty per cent, less than before, the requirement
of labour is so much less, and the quantity that sufl&ced for
the last will be quite sufficient for the present. Thus, then,
may be accounted for the fact, that there is less demand
even now for labour than there was a year since, and
perhaps no great demand will arise for years to come, for the
same reason.
^^ As far as can be judged, the best-informed merchants
seem to think that the price of sugar will not again mate-
rially rise^ and that this island has already attained the
utmost that, under the present circumstances, it is likely
to produce. With the present prices the planters cannot
afford to give large sums for labour, and they must economise
with what they have. In this they have also another supply
beyond what the abandoned coffee estates afforded, namely,
£rom the numbers formerly employed in the manufacture
of tobacco and cigars. Much as has been the falling off in
respect of remuneration for sugar, the fall in the tobacco
trade is as remarkable. Of 20,000 persons, estimated to have
been employed in this city in the manufacture of cigars, it
is said that half are now out of employment; and this
circumstance, if it be true, and if it continue, must lower
the rate of prices for labour generally, and give, if required,
perhaps several thousand labourers for the estates.'^
k2
196 APPENDIX.
Exports of Sugar and Tobacco from Cfuba.
''The exports from Havana and Matanzas, which in 1847
amounted to 1,006,767 boxei of sugar, and 106,904 quintals
qf coffee, in the past year have amounted to 1,000,341
boxes of sugar, and 31,678 quintals of coffeei there being five
boxes of sugar, and twenty-two and a half quintals of cofiee
to the ton.
''In 1847, there were exported from Havana 19,368
qumtals of leaf tobacco, which was less than half the quan-
tity exported in 1846. But in the past year the exports have
Men still further, to 18,508 quintals.
"Of cigars, in 1847, were exported hence, 198,268 bun-
dles of 1,000 each, which was one-fifth more than in former
years. But during the last year the exports have fitllen to
their former average, 150,729 bundles, with the prospect of
this depression continuing.''
Revenue qf Cuba,
" In addition to the return of the exports and imports
during the last twenty years, I also submit to your lordship
an account of the revenue of the island, as affording means
to judge of its capabilities, and together the prospects of
increase of productions and inducements to carry on the
slave-trade, if the planters should find it worth their while
to extend their cultivations, either by a rise in the price of
sugar, or what is the same thing, a lowering of the price of
labour, which would follow on the slave-trade being opened
to them again, so that they could produce sugar at a greater
profit. The total revenue for 1847 was 12,808,713f dollars.
Of this revenue, it is stated that one million and a half of
dollars are applied to the civil service, including the ministers
and consuls of Spain in North and South America ; four
mHlions and a half of dollars for the military ; one million
and a quarter for the marine ; and the remainder remitted to
Spain,*'
The following extracts from the Report of the British
Commissary Judge of the Mixed Commission Courts at
Sierra Leone, dated Slst December, 1848, afford the latest
APPENDIX. 197
intelligence of the general results of our efforts against the
slave-trade : —
^'In the same period (from the commencement of the
system of Mixed Commission Courts in 1819, to the year
1849,) there Have been emancipated, by these Mixed Courts,
64,625 slaves; of whom, 56,935 have been registered
here.'* ...
"The return of vessels captured on suspicion of being
engaged in the slave-trade, and adjudicate in. the Vice^
Admiralty Court at Sierra Leone, from the 30th of June to
the 3 1st of December, 1848, amounts to seventeen vessels,
which, with the fourteen adjudicated in the same Court
during the previous half year, gives a total of thirty-one
vessels adjudicated in the Vice- Admiralty Court of Sierra
Leone, in the year just ended^ under the Acts of the && 6
Geo. IV., c 113 ; 2 & 3 Vict., c. 73 ; and the Act erf the
8&9Vict., c. 122.
" Of the thirty-one vessels, fourteen were captured under
the Brazilian flag ; fifteen were without either ships' papers
or colours ; one under the British flag, and one under the
flag of the United States.
"The aforesaid captures took place in the following
localities : — One in the Rio Pongas, two in the harbour of
Sierra Leone, one off this colony, eleven between Seabar
and Cape Palmas, fourteen within six degrees north of the
equator, two within four degrees south of the line, and one
captured full of slaves, probably on her passage t-o Cuba, in
latitude 12 deg. 22 min. south, longitude 37 deg. 14 min.
west.
" Among the thirty-one captures, thirteen had slaves on
lK>ard ; the other eighteen cases were proceeded against for
being found equipped for the slave-trade.
" The locality in which the thirteen vessels having slaves
on board were captured, is as follows : — ^Three canoes seized^
with 112 slaves on board, within Britbh waters off this
colony ; nine vessels within six degrees north of the equator ;
two within four degrees south of the equator ; and one was
captured full of slaves in latitude 12 deg. 22 min. south,
ftnd longitude 37 deg. 14 min. west.
198 APPENDIX.
'' The number of slaves so captured was 6,619, of whom
5,282 were decreed emancipation ; 337 haying died before
such decree was passed. This dreadful mortelity may be
accounted for by the inhuman master of the slaver captured
by Commander Sprigg, of her Majesty's sloop Ferrety
having stowed on board his vessel, sidmeasuring only 167
tons, 852 men, women, and children, 127 of whom died
before they were emancipated; and. but for the humane
conduct of Commander Sprigg, who transhipped about 300
slaves on board the Ferrety the mortality must have proved
even still more appalling." . . .
" I have the pleasure to report to your lordship, that, by
order of the French Government, all the slaves in 'Senegal
and Goree have been emancipated. This highly interesting
event cannot fail to produce important effects upon the
natives of the neighbouring kingdoms, and to conviupe them
that Great Britain and France are determined, not only to
suppress the slave-trade, but also slavery itself, in every part
of their dominions.''
No. VIII.
REPORT OP SLAVE-TRADE COMMITTEE.
The select committee appointed, in 1847, "to consider the
best means which Great Britain can adopt for providing for
the final extinction of the slave-trade," having had a large
amount of evidence laid before it, and being unable to bring
its proceedings to a close during the session, reported its con-
clusions on the evidence submitted to it, in a series of reso-
lutions to the House, and has been re-appointed, during the
present session, to finish its labours. The following is its
report : —
Besolutions qf Select Committee on the Slave-trade.
" The Select Committee appointed to consider the best
means which Great Britain can adopt for providing for the
final extinction of the slave-trade, and who were empowered
to report the minutes of evidence taken before them^ from
time to time, to the House, and also their opinion thereupon,
APPENDIX.
199
have further considered the matters to them referred, and
have agreed to the following resolutions : —
" 1. That it appears hy evidence laid before this Committee,
that the state of the African slave-trade, with relation to
America, at the undermentioned periods, was, as far as can
be ascertained, as follows : —
No. L^MEMORANDA of the Number of Slaves computed to
have been Exported and Imported Westward from Africa,
from 1788 to 1840.
Ayerage Casu-
ffn
%
|i.
i
'•'S 4
alties during the
?5,.
III
5
•0 a> w
DATE.
it
< w
Voyage.
IP
l!l
353 «».
Average
Propor-
tion.
Amount.
In 1788 .•....^,.
100,000
14 per ct.
14,000
24,000
18,000
44,000
86,000
^1708to 1806
85,000
14 »
12,000
15,000
20,000
88,000
78,000
g
1805 to 1810
85,000
14 „
12,000
15,000
25,000
38.000
73,000
^
1810 to 1815
03,000
14 »
13,000
30,000
30,000
20,000
80,000
1815 to 1817
106,600
25 „
26,600
32,000
81,000
17,000
80,000
1817 to 1819
106,600
26 „
26,600
34,000
84,000
12,000
80,000
captured
by
CruiMn.
<
•2
1810 to 1826
103,000
26 „
25,800
30,000
37,000
1,200
77,200
k
1825 to 18S0
126,000
26 „
31,000
40,000
50,000
4,000
94,000
^
ISaO to 18S5
78,600
ai „
10,600
40,000
15,000
8,900
68,900
1885 to 1840
136,800
25 „
33,000
29,000
65,000
7,900
101,900
No. l.^MEMORANDA of the Number of Slaves comp
have been annually Exported and Imported Westwan
Africa, from 1840 to 1848.
to
*, J ATflmgp Casualtl?!
i
Z*%\ during tiie Voj^age.
Ipajiorted
into
imported
}dto
ChptUKd
Totil
Amount
of
3
IS&i ,_
BTumiah
BrmU.
Crals«HH
SJftTe*
< ^
ProporLion.
Ajqqunt^
CoLoulei*
Imported.
1340
64,114
^^ percfiut.
19,06a
14,470
so.ooo
3.610
4s,osa
1^41
4%0B7 IftS „
11,974
11 317
16,000
ft.wa
S3,rt^
\M2
^^Am 2ft „
?.IO0
3,150
14,200
3,Ufi0
£1,300
1N»
fi5,O0B a5
15.705
tt.OOO
ao^oo
2.737
4I,S97
1^44 '54,10^ £6 M
13,5i!5
10,D(K)
S6,fj(lH
4.577
40.577
\%iU
ae,7aH ^a „
9,11)9
i.ajo
23,700
8,610
27,509
1846
7fl,U7.S5 „
19,099
l.7<)(»
59,000
2,788
bi,\m
IS47
H4.a&0 po „
£1,0^9
l,fiOO
57,800
8,907
G3,S67
200 APPENDIX.
*^ 2. That during the progress of the present year ihe skTe*
trade has been in a state of unusual yigonr and activity.
<< 8. That from the end of the year 1845, dofwn to the
present period, the strength and efficiency of the British
preventive squadron have been raised to a point never before
attained, and that squadron has been supported by tiie
squadrons of France and the United States, according to
treaties.
<< 4. That the total number of negroes liberated by British
cruisers, in the year 1846 and 184T, scarcely exceeded ftur
per cent, of the slaves carried off from Africa in those years,
as estimated according to the table affixed to the first reso-
lution.
^'6. That during the years 1846 and 1847, and daring the
progress of the present year, the price of slaves in Brazil
has experienced a progressive and very considerable declme.
'' 6. That the actual direct expenditure connected with the
. suppression of the slave-trade appears at present to be not
less than £650,000 per annum, without taking into account,
on the one hand, the share of establishments and charges
for the non-effective service, which may belong to this
portion of the active service, nor, on the other, the question
of what proportion of the naval force it may be necessary to
maintain for the protection of commerce.
"7, That the African slave-trade of Bra^ hasbeen attended
witVvery large profit, and that it is now conducted with an
amount of organisation, and with a degree of confidence in
the success of its adventures, such as have never been before
opposed to the efforts of the nations engaged in suppressing it
"8. That the extent and activity of the African slave-trade,
though in some degree affected by foreign interference, and
at times restrained by the exertions of the Governments of
Cuba and Brazil, have been mainly governed by the demand
for the products of slave-labour in dhe markets of Europe.
^' 9. That the admission of slave-grown sugar to consump-
tion in this country has tended, by greatly increasing the
demand for that description of produce, so to stimulate the
African slave-trade, as to render an effectual check more
difficult of attainment than at any former period.
APPENDIX. 201
*' 10. That the sufferings and mortality of the slaves in the
barracoons and in the middle passage are appalling to hu-
manity^ and the intensity of the sufferings, and the amount
of the mortality, are unexampled in the history of the
slave-trade.
'^ 11. That in the uncertainty under which the Committee
labour, whether any reconunendations which they might
make would be accepted by the Government and Parlia-
ment, they have not thought it advisable to take into con-
sideration, at this late period of the session, an alteration of
the policy heretofore pursued for the suppression of the slave-
trade. The Committee have been induced to adopt this
course, from a wish not to weaken or embarrass tihie Execu-
tive Government during the recess, but they cannot conclude,
without urging upon the immediate attention of the Govern-
ment the difficulties and embarrassments which attach to the
present position of the subject.
'^ 12. That the Committee is of opinion that it is expedient
that this Committee should be re-appointed at the commence-
ment of the next session of Parliament.
" 10th August, 1848."
The evidence laid before the Slave-trade Committee, pub-
lished in the Report of its proceedings in the past session of
Parliament, affords much important matter with respect to
the only means within the scope of possibility, short of the ,
abolition of slavery by the voluntary act of emancipation
on the part of Cuba and the Brazils, that can be looked to
for the destruction of the trade in slaves.
Be it borne in mind that, under our treaties with Brazil
and Spain, toe have a right to demand the freedom of all
slaves who have been imported into their territories and
colonies contrary to their stipulations. In the examination
of Lord Palmerston, Sir Charles Hotham, and Dr. Lush-
ington, we find this subject touched on : —
JLord Palmerston,
<< Does your lordship think, that if the treaties which we
already have with respect to those slaves who have been
surreptitiously introduced into Brazil were fulfilled, that
k3
202 APPENDIX.
would be of great effect towards the suppression of the
slave-trade 7 That question relates rather to a law, I appre-
hend, of Brazil, than to a stipulation of treaty. By the
treaty of 1826, the Brazilian Government pledged itself that
any slave-trade carried on directly or indirectly by any
Brazilian subject should be deemed and treated as piracy.
The emperor, moreover, passed a law, according to which
any negro brought in and landed in Brazil, after a specified
date, should be ipso facto free. No doubt if that law
WERB ENFOROBD, A VBRY LARGE PROPORTION OF THE
NEGROES NOW HELD IN SLAVERY IN BRAZIL WOULD
BE RESTORED TO THAT FREEDOM WHICH BY THE LAW
OF Brazil is their right.
'^ Does your lordship consider that England is entitled by
the treaty to demand the execution of that order ? — Eng-
land IS entitled to demand from Brazil a full
AND complete FULFILMENT OP ITS TREATY ENGAGE-
MENTS.
" Does your lordship suppose, if the Spaniards were to
fulfil honourably their engagements with us, that in Cuba
also, as well as in Brazil, a great number of persons now
kept in slavery would be set free ? — What I have said with
regard to Brazil applies also to Cuba ; for there is a Spanish
law to the same effect as the Brazilian l^w which I have
mentioned — namely, purporting that every negro brought
into Cuba, after a specified date, should be ipso facto free;
there can be no doubt that there must be in
Cuba a great number of negroes who are ille-
gally HELD in bondage.
"Are you aware whether it is easy to distinguish a
newly-imported negro from one who has been born in the
colony ? I believe perfectly easy, for persons accustomed to
see negroes, for a certain time after their importation ; I do
not know how long the traces take to be obliterated.
*'If, therefore, the Spanish Government were honestly
determined to liberate all those who were illegally imported,
they would have no difficulty in distinguishing at least a
great number of them ? — If they would consent to the esta-
blishment of a mixed commission, for the purpose of
APPENDIX. 203
examining negroes brought before them, I apprehend such
commission would have no difficulty in nine cases out
of ten."
Sir Charles Hotham,
" In reference to the supposition tkat it might be possible
to pursue the extinction of the slave-trade by more stringent
measures than the present^ you have stated that it would be
necessary to adopt two measures in particular : one of them
the destruction of barracoons, and the other the treatment
of the crews of slaving ships as pirates, in order to attain
that end. You are aware that there is also an opinion,
strongly held in this country, that the Brazils are bound by
treaty to liberate, upon our demand, all slaves who have
been illegally imported into that country ? — I have heard so.
"Supposing the enforcement of tiiat demand to be
attempted by us, if it could be enforced, it would be a
very powerful engine wherewith to work upon the Brazils ? —
It would immediately amount to a declaration of war, which
would bring things to a crisis.*
" Do you think it would be practicable for England, as
far as you have had the means of judging of the state of
opinion, not only among the subjects of this country, but
the subjects of other countries, to adopt those three measures :
the destruction of barracoons, the treatment ^of slave crews
as pirates, and the demand to Brazil to fulfil, under treaty,
their engagements to liberate all slaves illegally imported? —
Setting aside the question of law, and also setting aside
the feelings of foreigners, which are greatly adverse to
our present system, / consider England is pledged^ and
cannot depart from that pledge, to adopt every possible
measure to carry into execution the wishes of the people at
large.^*
The Right Hon, Dr. Zushington.
" Do you imagine that a large number of the slaves now
in Cuba and the Brazils are retained in slavery contrary to
treaty with this country ? There cannot be a doubt about
* Sir Charles Hotham seems not to be aware there are pacific
methods of enforcing just demands, as effectual as physical force
resources.
204 APPBMDIX.
it that a very large number of slayes ba^e been detained in
the Brazils and Caba contrary to the treaty.
^' Do yoa think that those slaves are legally entitled to
their freedom ? Certain lt, bt yibtue of thx oompact
WITH Grbat Britain.
*' Is it your opinion that it would be powible for this
country to urge upon the countries of Cuba and the Brazils
the manumission of those slaves 7 This country would have
a perfect right to make that demand. Then always arins
the question^ how you are to enforce a demand of this des-
cription 7 I fear there are no means of enforcing it except by
resorting to war.
'^ Would it not be possible to give due warning to those
Governments, that unless they will manumit those slaves who
have been illegally imported, we will refuse to receive their
produce into this country 7 Certainly, we might give that
notice,- and we might follow up that threat by the execution
of it. Laving fully made up our minds that if we make the
threat we would perform it.
*^ You think, as they have broken their treaties with us by
retaining those persons illegally in slavery, in spite of any
construction wl^ch might be put upon the treaty, we should
be justified in excluding their produce from this country?
I tl^nk so, certainly ; / take it to be an undoubted principle
that every breach of treaty gives the offended country
absolute rights ; but, in practice and by custom, the offended
country always in the first instance makes a representation.
If that representation is not attended with effect, the next
step has generally been to issue an embargo, and in some
instances to seize vessels at sea. Upon the principle of
having the power to do all, you may do less tJian all.
Therefore, the treaty having been violated, it would be
competent to Great Britain to make any demand which she
thoughtfit."
The solemn farce of a Select Committee, got up for a
specific object, by a particular set of persons, for the main-
tenance of any peculiar interests, mercantile objects of a
class, or a trade, or political advantages of a clique, or a
little party of speculators in affiurs of State, is becoming too
APPENDIX. 206
stale an entertainment ^^to draw" well. It produces no
effect. The plot takes no one by surprise. The piece goes
off with a formidable report, but the noise is too great, the
public will have nothing to do with it It is to be hoped
there are no circumstances in the appointment or composition
of *' The Select Committee of the House of Commons on the
Slave-trade/' whose report was made in the present year,
1849, to bring it within the terms of that class of perform-
Aces we have just spoken of.
It is to be feared, at all events, that its ** most lame and
impotent conclusions'' will not be found productive of any
good, or indicative of any large amount of wisdom, or of
earnestness of desire to grapple with the evils of the slave-
trade.
And it is manifest, that the principal recommendation of
' the Committee — ^namely, the discontinuance of the system of
blockade and crmsing for the suppression of the slav^trade,
— is based on a great deal of evidence to which we look in
vain for any disposition hostile to slavery, or even strongly
opposed to the trade in slaves. And equally manifest is it
that many persons have come to a similar conclusion of the
imprticticability of that system of force, but who have recom-
mended other measures of repression and suppression which
the Select Committee have thought proper to condemn.
The character of this Committee, moreover, appointed to
inquire so extensively into the subject of the dave-trade,
with a view to its suppression, has not been served by the
remarkable omission of that very important part of the mam
question — ^namely, the connexion of British commerce and
capital with the slave-trade of Spain, Portugal, and the
Brazils. I iind, in the Anti-slavery Reporter , of the 1st of
June, 1849, some excellent remarks on this subject : —
'' One branch of inquiry, however, which ought to have
engaged attention, was omitted, viz., the extent to which
British subjects are engaged in fostering the system of
slavery in foreign countries, and in aiding and abetting the
slave-trade. We have from time to time produced official
evidence, to show that some of our manu&ctnrers and
merchants are deeply implicated in this foul business \ but
206 APPENDIX.
the difficulty of bringing the charge home to them by direct
legal evidence has been so great, as to render conyiction
next to impossible^ or assuredly they would have been made,
long before this, to feel the penalties of violated law. A
communication was recently made to the Morning Potty
which deserves the most attentive consideration. It is as
foUows —
'' ^Allusion having been made, in your valuable and always
important city correspondence of Wednesday, to a repoft
which, I trust, is well founded, of the intention of the
Brazilian Government to grant emancipation to the slaves,
I cannot refrain from addressing a few words to yon,
as the constant and unflinching friend of African and
other slaves, in the hope that the example of this country,
now to be followed by Brazil, may have the effect of remov-
ing that blot on human nature — the continuance of the traffic
in slav^. The legislative enactments on this subject prohibit
Englishmen from purchasing or acquiring slaves in any part
of the world. Its letter has been kept, for none have been
purchased by the mining companies in Brazil ; hut its spirit
is openly evaded by the hiring of slaves for 4erms of years.
This has been done to an ^normous extent by the different
associations presided ov^ by London capitalists ; and my
attention was particularly drawn to the subject by an article
in the Mining Journal of last Saturday, in which it was
mentioned that the mortality amongst the blacks in Brazil
was very great. Eight deaths had occurred m a fortnight,
out of 1,000 persons belonging to a mining company. By
the published reports, it also appears that new slaves were
daily expected to fill up the death vacancies, to swell the
profits of the shareholders ; and it is stated, that if they had
more hands, the returns would be considerably augmented*
It is, in fact, simply weighing the lives of the blacks against
gold, the balance in value being the difference in the divi-
dends to the whites at home. If this s1»te of things is to
continue, it would be far better for the slaves themselves
that the Act* above referred to should be repealed. The
companies would be allowed to purchase slaves, and it is only
natural to suppose that more care would then be taken of
APPENDIX. 207
these wretched creatures than of the sliaes of others, hired
for a time. There is some reason, therefore, to believe that
the mortality would be less, and the slave-trade could not
be more encouraged ; for it makes no difference whether the
blacks, on arrival in Brazil, are purchased by Englishmen
direct, or bought by the Brazilians, to let out to the com-
panies. Even the Brazilian masters cease to take much
interest in the slaves when let out for six years' annual pay-
ment, or to care whether they live or die. The first three
payments always refund their cost. The last three are profit,
with the reversion of any who survive. It is to this most
shameful and open evasion of the Act of Parliament, on the
part of these English companies, that it is desirable the
attention of the legislature should be directed, and the hope
that this communication in your columns may be of service
in this respect, induces me to encroach on your attention
and space.'
" Of ' the practices' referred to by the correspondent of
the Post, we have long been aware ; but, instead of ad-
vising a repeal of the law which punishes with transporta-
tion any British subject engaged in the slave-trade, we
would extend its provision to parties hiring slaves under
contracts, for any period of time whatever.
*' In connection with the communication to the Morning
Post J we give the following statement, taken from a letter
addressed to Lord Brougham, by a gentleman who resided
three years in Brazil, (the greater part of the time at Rio,)
and who expresses his conviction, that, until the Brazilian
Government carry out their own laws for the suppression of
the slave-trade, it will continue to flourish :—
" ' Convoys of freshly-imported negroes are to be seen
daily on the high road from the capital to the provinces ^f
Minas Geraes, Matto Grosso, and Goyaz, within three
leagues of the metropolis, passing through towns, without
let or hindrance, under the eyes of the authorities, whose
duty it is to seize upon and liberate every African iinported
since 1831.
/' ' It may be true that England cannot interfere in the
208 APPBKBIX.
internal governmei|^of Brazil ; bat why are London com-
panies permitted to have establishments in that country,
where they vie with Brazilian sugar-planters in the con-
samption of Africans?
^' ' I beg to enclose, for your Lordship's perosal, the report
of an English mining company, (St John del Bey^) of its
last year's operations. There are very painful &ct8 in these
pagesy and some very painful omissions. It appears, at
page 45, that this company has 1,100 slaves ; and at page
38, the number of deaths during the year is given at 59, or
5 l-3rd per cent, — an awful mortality, when it is considered
that only one person died of natural decay. But the most
striking item, in this fearful list of page 88, is the
death of sixteen borers. These are all picked men, young,
strong, and able, frpm twenty to thnrty-five years of age.
Referring to page 22, it is seen that the average of borers
during the year was 194, showing the deaths in this dilss to
be 8 l-5th per cent This bears out a statement in a letter
lately published in the Morning Pott respecting this com-
pany, '' that blacks' lives were weighed against gold, the
balance going into the pockets of the shareholders."
« ' What sympathy is shown by the officers of the company
for those unhappy men who have died in their service?
None. The superintendent, in his general remarks, be-
ginning at page 41, glorifies himself upon the operations and
profits of the past year, anticipating brighter results for the
next ; but his only reference to the dead is an indirect and
pounds-shillings-and-pence reference — that ''he is taking
measures to obtain a further addition of hired labourers
(slaves), to enable a still larger supply of store to be ob-
tained." This future is undimmed by the black chronicle of
the past.
'' ' Does the head of the mine department, in which two-
thirds of the dead adults were employed, evince even regret
for the loss of these men? No ; but, at page 19, he coldly
calculates the cost of each borer at £10 to £ll per month,
(of course, to be correct, the losses by death must enter into
his arithmetic,) and that each would return £1.9 or £20
worth of gold ; and he terminates his report by stating.
APPENDIX. 209
>^ that nothing can be more gratifying than theadyancement
made and the profits for the futore, and that the greater the
force the greater the profits, in proportion to the expenses.''
" ^ If it be admitted that England can only by moral
influence induce the Brazilian Government to give efiect to
their own laws for the suppression of the 'slave-trade, it
cannot be denied that such influence must be weakened, if
not entirely destroyed, by the fact of a London company
being one of the largest slave-holders and slave-employers
in Brazil ; that it is increasing its slave-force as ^t as pos-
sible, to make good losses by death, and enable it to increase
its operations ; and this in defiance of an Act of Parliament,
prohibiting all Englishmen, in any part of the world, from
encouraging, or being in any way concerned with, the traffic
in Africans/
''The same remarks apply to the Anglo -Spanish mining
companies, who carry on their operations in Cuba. It is an
outrage upon the sentiments and feelings of the people of
this country, that these companies should be allowed openly
and flagrantly to violate the laws of their country.''
Extract from the Report of the Select Committee of the
House of Commons on the Slave-trade,
'' That the committee which was appointed in the last
session of Parliament to consider the best means which
Great Britain can adopt for providing for the final extinc-
tion of the slave-trade, adopted certain resolutions, which
were reported to the house. In the purport of those resolu-
tions this committee is agreed with the committee of last
session.
''That a long and large experience of attempts to
suppress the slave-trade by a naval force, leads to the
conclusion that to put down that trade by such means is
impracticable.
" That over and above a return to jthe system of dis-
couragement by commercial legislation, several measures
have been suggested as suitable auxiliaries of the present
preventive system, particularly the destruction of barra-
coons, the infliction of the penalties of piracy on th^
210 APPENDIX.
captains and crews of vessels engaged in the slaye-trade,
and the enforced liberation of all slaves illegally imported
into Brazil and the Spanish colonies.
''That yoor committee have considered whether these
expedients are practically available, as they coneeive that^
if that were the case, such expedients ought to be tried
before the abandonment of the system of forcible suppres-
sion should be resolved upon. But, even assuming that
Great Britain either is actually entitled, or could by nego-
tiation acquire a title, to adopt all of these measures, you
committee are still convinced that such a prosecution as
could alone be effectual, would not be sustained by the
general opinion of other civilised countries, would be at-
tended with the imminent risk of very serious calamities,
and would scarcely be sooner commenced than abandoned.
'' Your committee are, therefore, constrained to believe
that no modification of the system of force can effect the
suppression of the slave-trade, and they cannot undertake
the responsibility. of recommending the continuance of that
system. Your committee are not, however, prepared to
recommend the immediate and unconditional withdrawal
by Great Britain of her contingent from that system which
her influence has been so mainly instrumentid in recom-
mending to other countries, without any communication
with those countries, and without any definite understanding
of their views."
If a select committee of men earnestly desirous of abolish-
ing the slave-trade were appointed, and those persons were
thoroughly acquainted with its evils, its violations of solemn
engagements, its vulnerable side, its susceptibility of fear,
it is probable they would come to some such resolutions as
the following : —
1. That the Governments of Spain and the Brazils entered
into treaties with Great Britain, solemnly engaging to
suppress the traffic in slaves in their dominions, within a
given period of time, and have promulgated decrees in their
several States, declaring all Africans surreptitiously intro-
duced in the Spanish colonies and Brazilian territories libe-
rated from slavery.
APPENDIX. 211
2. That these engagements have been broken, — that these
decrees have not been carried into effect. That vast num-
bers of African slaves have been carried into Cuba, in con-
travention of the treaties above-named, and such is the
mortality in those countries, in the predial slave population,
that the entire predial class would be swept away in ten
years, were it not reinforced by continual accessions of im-
ported African negro slaves.
3. That the great mass of the slave population of those
countries are consequently illegally held in slavery, and
should be set at liberty, if those treaties are not to be set
at defiance.
4. That the violation of them has created the necessity
of keeping up a British naval squadron on the coast of
Africa, and another on the coast of Cuba and the Brazils ;
of maintaining for thirty years an expensive machinery for
the repression of the illegal trade,— Mixed Conmiission
courts, liberated African departments, a large official staff
at home, as well as abroad, for the settlement of contested
claims, of complaints of parties injured or inconvenienced by
captors, for conducting correspondence with mixed com-
missions, consular agents, and foreign Governments, on anti-
slave-trade subjects.
5. That the vast expenditure, hardly falling short of
twenty millions, thus incurred in consequence of violated
engagements on the part of the Brazilian and Spanish
Governments, should be made a claim on those respective
nations, and either reimbursement of the same demanded,
or emancipation of the slaves in those colonies proposed as a
substitute for that payment.
6. That the continual pressure of this claim, and urgency
of the demand for the settlement of it, would have an influ-
ence on slavery and the slave-trade that could not fail to be
immediately un^vourable and ultimately fatal to it.
The British '< Anti-Slavery" Society, on the 26th of
January, 1849, published an address, entitled — ^^The
Slave-Trade and its Remedy, "- wherein they recom-
mend to the especial notice of members of Parliament
a mode of action for the suppression of the slave-trade,
212 APPBMDIX.
which 18 baaed on one of the fvmcbunental prindples
of the Society, viz. — ^^That so long as slavery ezistB)
there is no reasonable prospect of the annihilation of Ihe
slaye-trade, and of eztingnishing the sale and barter of
human beings ; that the extinction of slavery and the slave-
trade will be attained most effectually by the employment
of those means which are of a tMral^ religUnUy and padfie
character; and that no measures be resorted to by llm
Society, in the prosecution of these objects, but such as are
in entire accordance with these principles/'
The address goes on to say— ^^ There can be little doubt
that the band fide demand, on the part of the British
Government, for the liberation of all Africans from slavery
who have been illicitiy introduced into the Spanish colonies
and BrazD, would extinguish the slave-trade, by destroying
it at its very root. It will require, however, an energeiie
expression of public sentiment and feeling, which, we trusty
wfll not be withheld, to secure this great triumph to the
anti-slavery cause." . . . ^^ The feulure of the cruising
system to accomplish this great object is now so apparent,
that the committee conceive the most sceptical must be
convinced that to it we must no longer trust, whatever may
be our personal view of the principle which it involves, to
realise it, but that we must turn to other and better means
for its extinction." ....
'^ In October, 1846, the committee presented a memorial
to Lord John Russell on the subject, in which they reviewed
the whole question, and recommended the abandonment of
the present system of cruising and blockading, as anti-slave-
trade measures. Should the Government, in view of all the
facts of the case, resolve upon this step, the committee
would urgentiy recommend, that the funds that will be
saved thereby may be applied to the development of the free
produce of British India. If, in any part of the British
empire, the means of competing with slave-labour produce
in the markets of the world can be found, it will be found
there. Possessed of boundless resources, both of soil and
labour, all that is required is, that its means of internal
transit should be perfected ; the irrigation of its cultivable
APPENDIX. 213
lands secured ; its labour freed from all unjust restrictions^
and that those great public works, the importance of which
is universally admitted, should be prosecuted, in order to
secure to the capitalist and to the farmer the fair reward of
their risks and their toil. Were these things attended to,
without unnecessary delay, there would be no necessity for
transporting, at an enormous cost, the labourers of India to
the British colonies, for the cultivation of sugar. The delta
of the Godavery, and the valley of the Ganges, would
supply that article in the greatest abundance, and at the
smallest cost.''
The views of the Society, with respect to the failure of
the cruising and blockading system on the coast of -Africa,
are borne out by the accounts of various naval officers.
A letter on the slave-trade of the western coast of Africa
appeared in the Times of the 29th of January, 1849, from
the pen of Lieut. W. T. F. Jackson, R.N., who states that
he has <<just returned from the coast." The following
extract from Lieut. Jackson's letter will be found im-
portant. He says : —
<< Viewing the slave traffic merely as an illicit trade^
which government vessels have to suppress, it is a well-
known axiom in our Custom-house, that any contraband
trade yielding thirty per cent, cannot be stopped ; for such
is human nature, that individuals will always be found
willing to risk the severest punishment for that amount of
profit. Are the philanthropists in England aware of the
profit of a single slave ? The average price of a slave on
the coast is a doubloon, or £3 8s. Supposing that a slave
is paid for in goods, instead of coin, which form generally
the greatest part of the purchase, then there is profit on
profit again. This slave, on being landed in the Brazils, is,
since our blockade, worth from £50 to £70, leaving a per
centage, after all deductions of goods and agency, far above
the Custom-house standard. A few years ago, a slave mer-
chant made a considerable profit if one vessel in three
.landed her cargo. Now, owing to the large force we main-
tam on the coast, they have been able to raise their prices,
so that, if a merchant has six vessels on the venture, and
214 APPENDIX.
one escapes, he is amply repaid. For this I have the
authority of the slave captains and the slare factors them-
selves. I have heen repeatedly told by the captains of
slavers, and the factors on shore, that if we gave up the
blockade they must give up business. It is true we have,
in some measure, deterred the small trader, the petty traf-
ficker in human flesh, from pursuing his avocationsy b^use,
perhaps, the capture of one or two ships might ruin him ;
but we have put the trade on a larger scale, and the great
Rio traders carry on their business in a gigantic manner,
compared with their operations previous to the blockade.
Again, if a smuggler on the coast of England is caught with
a few pocket handkerchiefs, he is imprisoned or fined ; but
the trafficker in human life escapes free, and boasts to his
captors how many times he has been taken or has escaped,
and of his intention to return on the first opportunity to his
old occupation. Let any one compare the number of slaves
taken by our cruisers with those landed in the Brazils. In
1846, 7,000 were captured, and 70,000 landed, the number
captured being sufficient to give such a stimulus to the
market that there was no diminution in the profit to the
trader. With all deference to the high and humane feelings
that animated those who first projected the blockade, I
cannot, as an humble individual, but express my opinion
that the present scheme is futile and Quixotic. I am aware
that, in intruding my opinion, I am opposing men of high
standing and acknowledged wisdom ; it is with all humility
that I would ofier these remarks, founded, though they be,
on close observation and practical experience gained on the
spot. Instead of throwing away valuable lives, and
£3,000,000 per annum, in the maintenance of this blockade,
I would suggest the gradual increase of our colonies, and
the spreading of our influence amongst the native chief^.^'
The result of the experience of Commander Forbes, in
connexion with the African blockade, will be found to con-
firm the opinions of Lieut. Jackson : —
<< The slave-trade is a vast speculation. The vast gains
attending this traffic are scarcely conceivable, and, from the
great number of vessels fitted out for the purpose, most
APPENDIX. 215
certain. The profitable result is pretty well calculated by
the merchant ; and, although it is a lottery to the people
employed, he is safe enough. Hie fits out four, and expects
to lose three vessels ; if he should lose only two, he would
consider himself lucky. Captures are, therefore, really of
small consequence, and certainly of little use towards the
suppression or extinction of the slave-trade. During
twenty-six years, 103,000 slaves have been emancipated;
while, in the same period, 1,796,000 slaves were actually
landed I or rather more than over 69,000 slaves annually !
And last year, 1847, (notwithstanding the enormous propor-
tion of empty vessels taken,) 60,000 slaves were landed !"*
No. IX.
SLAVERY IN PORTO RICO.
Mr, Consul Lindegren to Lord Aberdeen,
I cannot send a return of the present population of
Porto Rico ; but a committee is making a statistical account
of the island, in which the present population will appear,
and when that is made, I will forward the particulars. As
far as I can ascertain, the present population is not less than
500,000 whites, blacks, and mulattoes ; of these, between
* While directing attention to the statements of naval officers
on the subject of the slave-trade, I would beg leave to caution my
readers against attaching an undue importance to the opinions of
naval officers of high rankf who have served on the coast of Afnca,
or in the West Indies. They do not like the stations ; and they
attribute to anti-slavery exertions of particular bodies at home, the
pressure on the Government which causes cruising squadrons to be
maintained in those seas. Admirals, on bad stations, are poor
advocates of human rights ; they are like judges in evil times of
despotism ; bad guardians of public liberty, and worse defenders
of the oppressed. It is painful to read the evidence of Admiral
Hotham, before the recent committee on slave-trade matters, to find
measures recommended in it, in the year 1848, which must inevitably
lead to re-opening the slave-trade which we abolished forty-two
years ago. And it is somewhat singular, in the year 1792, to find
the evidence in/avour of the slave-trade f which was mainlyTelied
on in Parliament, by the advocates of the atrocious traffic, against
Mr. Wilberforce's motion for the introduction of a bill for the
abolition of the slave-trade, was that of Lord Rodney and Admiral
Hotham,
216 APPENDIX.
80,000 and 90,000 are free labourers, and the daves do not
exceed 60,000.
As far as I can learn, the population in 18528 amounted
to:—
Whites 133,155
Free molattoes and blacks 96,840
Free labourers, people of all ooloors, posseesed
of no property 38,397
Slares 34,240
302,632
SUfvet,
Bfales 17,554
Females 16,686
34,240
Totai,
Males 145,670
Females 156,962
302,632
In 1888 the population was : —
Whites..... 176,000
Free mulattoes and blacks 130,000
Slares 44,000
350,000
The population of Porto Rico, according to S. Saco,
amounted in 1834 to 322,209, exclusive of troops and
strangers. The whites amounted to 159,864 ; free-coloured,
124,942; slaves, 37,403. The population he considers
about half that of Cuba.
No. X.
LAST CBNSnS IN EACH OF THE WEST INDIA ISLANDS.
The following is a general abstract of the last census
taken in each of the British West India islands, and in
APPENDIX.
217
British Gmana, specifying their respective dates^ esrtracted
from Pari. Papers, No. 426, 1845, p. 3.
NualKrof
davei, accord-
ColDnj.
Dhteaf
Malefl,
Femalcft.
Total cf a-
ing to the
ceusui.
9U9, l&W,
TCtnnmlBai.
1. Jamaica.
SJtine,lS44
181,633
1^5,800
377.433
311,070
3, Honduraa
nil
10,000
l,PtU
S.BahaiiifiA„.
-^ l&4i
l3."e^'
"um
S5,2fla
lO.OBft
♦.BarbadM*
3Juiiii.lSi4
Sfl^OOl
W^H
i23,m
e;*,i50
B. GreiiAda,.
it tt
13,73S
n,m
28,933
33.fi33
6, Bt. Vincent
13,600
u,m
27.SH8
2S,Sflfl
7.St.LudB
» II
9,871
11,130
31,001
13.291
e. Tnb&go.
Tl It
6,162
7,05fl
13.3U8
11,589
B. Antieiifl
10, Mmtienat.,,,
UMar.l&M
16,733
la,4S6
3G,178
20,131
aJime, 1W4
3,33fl
4,020
7,Sfl5
(5,401
11. Bartiiida
333
Sflfl
S09
13, Jltrnflinica
■I it
10,7&S
iLoei
a3,4Cfl
lil7ii
la. St. Chiiitapher
ti u
10,G33
13,6154
23.177
ID.TBO
iVNevii ,.
4,418
5 J 53
9,h7l
ii,m
iB^VirEinWiudi
...".... 1B41
3,i:i0
z,m
6.889
&,135
IB. Trinidfld... 1
3Jime,lMi
30,71^
2»,102
Sfl,8l5
30,flS7
17, Brftjjh Guiana 1
1
10 Oct. 1*41
^,m
48,&46
ea.i33
33^14
Total...
689,309
flCS^SO
~
No. XI.
SXPBNSBS GONNBCTED WITH THB SLAVB-TBADE.
F'rom the JReports of the British and Foreign Anti-
Slavery Society »
*^ A return of the expenses of liberated Africans, and of
the liberated African department in each year, from Decem-
ber, 1838, to December, 1844, including buildings and aU
contingent expenses, so iar as the same can be made out
from the records of the audit-office, comprising maintenance,
clothing, medical treatment, fuel, light, salaries, and inci-
dental expenses generally, has been appended to some re-
turns and documents relative to the slave-trade, and the
treaties between Great Britain and Spain on that subject,
lately obtained by Mr. Hutt, M.P. In 1839, the gross
total amount of the above expenses was £21,967 ; in 1840,
£16,267; m 1841, £46,025; in 1842, 33,800; m 1843,
L
218 APPBMDIX.
£16,802; and in 1844, £18,499 ; making a grand total of
£160,854 for those fix years. The total annual cost to the
coantry of all the Tessds employed in the suppression of the
slave-trade, incloding the wear and tear, amounted in 1839
to £80,898; in 1840, to £101,176; in 1841, to £78,954;
in 1842, to £94,026; in 1848, to £88,289 ; and in 1844, to
£217,527; of which, £86,091 was consumed in wages,
£47,268 in yictaals, and £84,178 in wear and tear. The
number of men and officers who died in 1844, engaged in
the slaye-senrice on the coast of Africa, amounted to nxty-
six ; and the number invalided to eighty-three. It further
appears, from this retom, that between December, 1888,
and December, 1844, there were three hundred and for^*
six vessels seized and proceeded against, either in tiie
English or foreign Mixed Ck>mmi6sion Conrto^ or in the
British Yice-Admindty Courts, on the ground of being con-
cerned in the illicit traffic, and that sixty-six of them were
seized with slaves on board, and two hundred and eigh^
under the equipment article, or without slaves. By returns
made in 1841, it appears that, during the preceding eleven
years, the number of deaths on the west African statioa
amounted to eight hundred and forty, of whom eighteen
were killed in action with slavers. The number wounded
is not given, nor the amount of invalids sent home during
the period, but they must have been considerable. The
number of cruisers employed varied from year to year, from
seven to nineteen, and the complement of men from 710 to
1536. The deaths, &c., which took place on board of
vessels employed in the same service in the West Indies,
Brazil, &c., are not given. A more perfect return for 1846
has, however, been laid before Parliament, from which it
appears that the number of ships of war of alL classes em-
ployed for the suppression of itte slave-trade was fifty-six,
mounting 886 guns, and manned by 9,289 men. The mor-
tality and casualties are stated as follows: — Number of
deaths of officers and men in vessels employed on the west
coast of Africa, 166 ; and in those not exclusively employed
on that coast, 93 — total, 259 ; officers and men invalided,
271 ; making a grand total of 530.'^
APPENDIX.
219
I
g
I
I
^
r|
I
^5
O
ewfls
I
-a— > a I -■. s S:^'i^
ii^iii^i I I iliii^iliiij
^S-2"*^3S' 1^=."
g S
... I
11
1
a
"3
220 APPBNBUC.
Return to an Address rf the HammrabJethe House of
Commons f dated 26th November , 1847 j--for,
^* Return of the number of Her Majesty's ships of war
employed on the coast of Africa for the Suppression of
the Slave-trade, in the month of June, 1847, stating the
number of men and guns on board of each, and the
aggregate."
'< Estimate of the expense of Her Majesty's ships of war
employed for the Suppression of the Slave-trade, and of
all their appointments, so as to exhibit the Aggregate
Charge to the Country for their support in the year
1846-47."
<< Return of the number of ships of war belonging to France,
and the number belonging to the United States of
America, employed on the coast of Africa for the Sup-
pression of the Slave-trade, agreeable to Treaties with
Great Britain, stating the number of ships of each dass,
and the number of men and of guns belonging to each,
aod the Aggregate, so far as the same can be ascer-
tained."
^< And copies or extracts of all the Reports or Despatches
received from the officers commanding Her Majesty's
ships of war employed for the Suppression of the Slave-
trade on the coast of Africa, since January, 1847, on the
state of Slavery and the Slave-trade."
H. F. AMEDROZ,
Chief Clerk.
AdmiraUyy 25M Feb.j 1848.
APPENDIX.
221
A Return of the number qf Her Majesty's ships qfwar employed
on the coast of Africa for the Suppression qf the Slave-trade,
in the month of June, 1847, stating the number of men and
guns on board of each, and the aggregate.
SHIP.
J
1
SHIP.
1
1
Penelope
Actseon
FftYOnrite
Promethens ,
22
24
14
5
6
16
10
8
8
12
12
12
270
200
130
100
80
130
80
80
80
130
120
110
Brought forward
King-Fisher ....
Flying-Fish
Albatross
Ferret
149
12
12
12
8
4
16
6
8
8
8
4
12
1,510
110
110
120
80
Heroine
Styx.... ........
145
Bittern
Siren •■■.
140
RoUa
Devastation......
Hound
147
Ranger. .........
80
Water- Witch ....
Rapid
80
Wanderer
Mariner
Contest
Sealark
Grappler ...... .,
Tortoise
Total
80
70
109
Carried forward . .
149
1,510
259
2,781
A Return of an BsHmate of the expense qf Her Majesty* s ships
qf war employed for the Suppression qf the Slave-trade, and
qf all their appointments, so as to eshibit the Aggregate
Charge io the Country for their support in this ye^ 1846-47.
Description of Charge. Charge.
Estimate of the expense of the wages and victuals of the
crews of Her Majesty's ships of war, employed in the
suppression of the slave trade, in 1846-47 £220,233
Estimate of the expense of the wear and tear of the hulls,
masts, yards, rigging, and stores supplied for the use
of Her Majesty's ships employed in ihe above service,
according to die statement received from the Sur-
veyor'^ Department 49,313
Estimate of the expense of the wear and tear of the
machinery of Her Majesty's steam vessels employed
as above, accordmg to the statement received from the
department of the Comptroller of Steam Machinery 17,790
Estimate of the value of coals provided for the use of the
above steam vessels, according to the statement re-
ceived from the Storekeeper-general's Department. . 14,287
Aggregate Charge. i?301,623
J. T. BRIGGS,
JeeoUntoMt-General of the Nuvjf.
Admiralty, 13M Dee., 1847.
222
APPENDIX.
Return qf the number qf ekipe qf war belonging to France j and
the United States qf America, employed on the coast ofJJrica
for the Supjftression qf the Slave'trade, agreeable to Treatia
with Oreat Britain, stating the number qf ships qf each elstit
and the number qf men and guns belonging to each, and thi
aggregate, as far as eon be ascertained.
Name of Ship.
Belonging to France :
Mercuro ••••••• ••••••■••
AbeiUe
Camille
Indienne
Infatigable
Alcjone
Bougainville
ComSte
Cygnoguc
Dnpetit Thonars
Fteche
Lcger
PapiUon
Bosaiffiiol
SurpniM
Phnthere
Amaranthe
Fr^
Jonqnille
HirondeUe
Australia, steam-vessel (160 horse-power)
Narval, steam-vessel (160 horse-power)
6alib6, steam -vessel (80 horse-power) ,
Adour, transport ,
Aube ditto
Marsouin ditto ,
Total number of Guns
Belonging to the United States :
James Town .
Boxer
Total number of Guns.
216
Number of Men.
The number of
men allowed in
'the complonent
ofthese ships not
known.
{The number of
men allowed in
the complement
not known.
APPENDIX. 223
No. XII.
LIBBBATBB AFRICANS AT SIEBBA LBONB.
The number of Africans emancipated by sentence of the
Mixed Commission Courts, and duly registered at Sierra
Leone, from June, 1819, to 30th June, 1845 56,935
Emancipated at Sierra Leone, but not registered there,
daring the same period 7,664
64.599
No. XIII.
BBITISH SUBJBGTS IMPUGATBD IN THB SLAYB-TBADB
AND SLAYBHOLDING.
The gold mines of Minas Geraes, in Brazil, are held by
British companies, and are worked principally by slaves who
have been purchased contrary to the laws of this country,
which declare such dealings in " the persons of men " to be
felonious and piratical, and punishable, on conviction, by
transportation for fourteen years, or for life, according to
circumstances.
Men. Women. Children. Total.
The Congo Soco mine . . 176 113 129 418
The Cata Branca do. . . 256
The Conc^idU) do 30
The Maeaubas and Cocaes
do 328
The St. Joa5 del Key do. 234
1024
Candonga
2093
The Minas Geraes Company having abandoned their mine,
sold the negroes to the Imperial mine, and the St. Joad del
Key.
86
64
406
10
10
50
136
155
619
96
30
360
441
388
1858
240
224 APPBKDIX.
In Cuba, Britisb sabjects are part proprietors in tbe copper
mines of that colony. In one, the Cobre, ''the laboiiren
employed were nearly 900 in nnmberi" and " nufre than one-
half of them were slaves ; some the property of the Mining
Company, and others hired out, as is not nncostomary, from
their owners in the neighbourhood."
British capital is also, unhappily, eztensiyely employed in
sustaining the slave-trade and system of slavery in different
parts of the world.
AIDING AND ABBTTINO SLAVB-TBADB ON THB PABT OF
BRITISH MEROHANTS, OB THEIB AOENTS, IN 8LAVB-
TRADINO AND SLAVBHOLDINO COUNTBIBS.
This crime is thus denounced by Mr. Canning, in a
despatch to Mr. Consul Pennell, dated July 24, 1835, re-
specting the shipment of commodities from the Brazils for
Africa, to be employed in the slave-trade.
'' The King's advocate reports that, by the 6th Greo. IV^i
for the suppression of the slave-trade, it is enacted, that,
except for special purposes permitted by the Act, if any per-
sons shall knowingly and willingly ship, tranship, lade, or
put on board, or contract for the shipping, transhippuig,
lading, receiving, or putting on board of any ship, vessel* or
boat, any money, goods, or effects to be employed in accom-
plishing any of the objects, or the contracts in relation to
the objects heretofore declared unlawful, then, and in every
case, the person so offending, and their procurors, counsellors,
aiders, and abettors, shall forfeit and pay for every such
offence double the value of all the money, goods, or effects
so shipped, &c., and to be recovered and applied as herein-
after mentioued.''^^' I have therefore to instruct you to
discourage undertakings such as you describe in your above-
mentioned letters, and to report to me the names, together
with a particular description of such Englishmen as may be
engaged in them."*
* Vide Reports, 1824.1825— Chap. B., page 45.
2LPVMSD1X. 225
BRITISH SUBJECTS IN PORBiaN OOUNTBIBS INTERESTBB
IS SLAYB PBOPBBTT.
British subjects slaveholders in Venezttela.
MB. WILSON TO LORD ABBBDEEN.
''I beg to report to yoar lordship, that some of the principal
estates in Yeneznelay on which slave labour is in part employed*
«re under the terms of long leases, in the hands of British subjects,
and are worked principally by British ciqpital. The feet is noto-
rious, although it would be scarcely possible to substantiate it by
legal evidence ; and it is for your lordship to determine whether
the hiring and employing slaves, after the passing of the Act
in question, in cases not excepted by that Act, is comprised
within the general prohibition against dealing in or holding
slaves,'' &C.
In answer to Mr. Wilson's inquiries how such British
subjects are to be dealt with, Lord Aberdeen replied :—
" Her Majesty's law officers have reported their opinion, that
no specific instructions can be given upon^the various points
suggested in your despateh above mentioned. They observe, that
the application of the law to any case of the buying or selling of a
slave must depend on the fects and circumstances of that par-
ticular case," ficc.
Prohibition of all British functionaries residing in foreign
countries where slavery exists^ from administering to the
estates of persons in cases in which slaves formed part
of the property.
Lord Palmerston issued the following circular despatoh to
British consuls residing in slaveholding countries : —
''Foreign Office j Nov. 11, 1846.
'* Sib, — I have to refer you to the circular issued under date of
May 8th, 1841, to her Majesty's functionaries residing in countries
where the condition of slavery exists, acquainting them with the
opinion of her Majesty's Grovemment, that it would be unfitting
that any officer holding an appointment under the British crown
should, either directly or indirectly, hold or be interested in slave-
property*
l3
226 APPENDIX.
'' In ftirthennoe of the principle tfau laid down, and in order
to pretent her Mijeitf'B ftmctionariei firom being engaged,- andor
anj circomitanoea, in the pnrchaae or lale of a alaTe, her Majiitj's
Ooyemment has oome to the de^rmination of prohibiting aU
Britiah fanctionariea residing in slaveholdmg oonntiies from
administering to the estates of deceased persons, in cases in which
sUires form part of the property of the deceased; and you are
hereby prohibited accordingly.
** Yon will publish this instruction for tiie inforBoation of aB
British snl^jectB residing at YeneneU.
**B. H.Wilson, Esq., &c." (Signed) « Paxjixmtok.''
THB BNOLISH 8LAYB-TBA.DB.
(-From "2%« IHinet," October, 1847.)
The slave-trade was instituted by the Crown in 1585,
hefare England possessed any West Indian colonies at aU.
Up to the year 1710 it was a royal monopoly. It was then
partially opened, ^'Jbr the benefit of the manufcicturers of
Great Britain"
From 1711 until 1749 the demands of the mannftctoren
for a more unrestricted trade continued to be the sulgect of
parliamentary investigation and dispute.
It was found that the trade could not be conveniently and
extensively carried on without forts ofi the coast of Africa;
and such was the appetite of the Britiah nation for the slave-
trade, that in* 1729 a committee of the House of Commons
passed the following resolutions : —
<' Ist. That the trade should be open; 2nd. That it ought not
to be taxed for the support of forts ; 3rd. That forts were neoes*
sary for securing the trade ; and, 4th. That an allowance ovght to
be made for maintaining such forts.''
All foreigners were excluded from participating in a trade
pronounced by Parliament to be ^^ so highly beneficial to the
kingdom.''
In 1745, grants from the Crown were made to the British
subjects of lands in Jamaica, on condition that the lands so
granted should be settied by a stipulated proportion of negro
slaves, and that in case such stipulation was not cmnpjied
APPENDIX. 227
with within a given time, the patoit was to be deemed null
and void.
In 1700, the colonists, anxious to limit the vast numbers
of wild negroes imported by English speculators, passed laws
impoang a duty on them, which Great Britain refused to
sanction, rejecting the act with indignation, and declaring
that the tlave^trade was beneficial and necessary to the
mother country. The governor who passed the laws was
reprimanded, and a circular was sent to all other governors,
warning them against a similar offence.
In 1765 and 1774, the Assembly of Jamaica repeated the
offence, and passed bills to restrain the importation of
negroes. Lord Dartmouth, then secretary of state, wrote
to Sir Basil Keith, the governor of Jamaica, forbidding him,
upon '^ pain of removal from his government, to assent to
such laws."
The despatch proceeds —
** At the same time I am to acquaint you that the alarm taken
by the merchants of this kingdom, on accomit of that Act, has
been greatlj increased, and fresh complaints, of a very urgent
nature, have been made by them, from their having received
advice, not only that such additional duty has been oontinaed for
another year, by an Act passed in November last, but that propo*
sitions have beoi adopted for laying the slave-trade under further
restrictions, and subjecting it to impositions thai wiU have the
effect qf em entire prohibition,
'' It is, therefore, our express will and pleasure, that you do not,
upon any pretence whatever, and upon pain of being removed
from your government, give your assent to any Act or Acts by
which the duties and impositions upon slaves imported into the
island of Jamaica, as the said duties stood before the 13th day of
February, 1774, shall be in any respect augmented or increased,
or any alteration made in the proportion of such duties, which, by
the provisions of such laws, was made payable by the importers of
such slaves.
"G. R.
** Given at our Court of St. James, 28th February, 1775, in the
15th year of our reign.''
The colonies, by the agent of Jamaica, remonstrated
against the resolution of the Government ; but the Earl of
228 APPENDIX.
Durtmonth replied — '' We eamufi attaw the eohnies toelutk
or ditcourage in an^ degree a traffic $o beneficial te Ule
nation."
Thus, at late at 1776, we find the Wett Indians sapplieatiiig
to be relieved from the alarming introdaction of more tlayc^
and the mother country, at the instigation of the dothien,
ironworkers, and other trades, whose wares were in requeit
on the coast of Africa, insisting on thdr reception.
No. XIV.
THE OAPTIYBS OF THB AHISTAD.
Early in the month of August, 1889, there appeared in
the American newspapers a variety of accounts of a
schooner, bound coastwise, from Havana to Neubitas, in
the island of Cuba, early in July, with about twenty white
passengers and a large number of slaves, having been seized
by the slaves in the night time, and the passengers and crew
all murdered, except two who had made their escape to land
in an open boat. About the 20th of the same month, a
strange craft was seen repeatedly on the American coast,
which was believed to be the captured Spanish coaster, in the
possession of the negroes. She was spoken by ^several
pilot-boats and other vessels, and partially supplied with
water, of which she was very much in want. It was also
said that the blacks appeared to have a great deal of money.
The officers of the Custom-house department and those of
the navy were ordered to go in pursuit of the '* pirates^" as
the unknown possessors of the schooner were called. The
tl. S. steamer, Fulton, and several revenue cutters were
despatched, and notice given to seize the pirate craft to the
collectors at the various seaports. The latter part of
August the *^ mysterious schooner" was seen near the
shore at Culloden Point, on the east end of Long Island,
where a part of the crew came on shore for water and fresh
provisions, for which they paid with the most extraordinary
profuseness. Here they were met by some Ameriean
officers, who stated that they had in their possession a large
APPENDIX. 229
box filled with gold. Shortly after, on the 26thy the yessel
was seen by Captain Gedney, U. S. navy, in command of
the brig Washington, employed on the coast sarrey, who
despatched an officer to board her. The officer found a
lai^ number of negroes and two Spaniards, Pedro Montes
and Jose Ruiz, one of whom immediately annouuced him-
self' as the owner of the negroes, and claimed his protection.
The schooner was thereupon taken possession of by Captain
Gedney, and carried into the port of New London. The
Judge of the U. S. District Court, and the U. S. Marshal
for the district of Connecticut, were sent for by express, and
a hurried examination was held on board the Washington^
at which the two Spaniards and the cabin-boy, Antonio, a
Creole negro, were examined on oath as to the facts in the
case.
The schooner proved to be the Amistady Captain Ramon
Perrer, from Havana, bound to Principe, about 100 leagues
distant, with fifty-four negroes held as slaves, and two
passengers, on board. The Spaniards said that after
being out four days, the negroes rose in the night, and killed
the captain and a mulatto cook ; that the helmsman and
another sailor took to the boat and went on shore ; that
the only two whites remaining were the said passengers,
Montes and Ruiz, who were confined below until morning ;
that Montes, the elder, who had been a sea captain, was
required to steer the ship for Africa ; that he steered east-
wardly in the day-time, because the negroes could tell his
course by the sun, but put the vessel about in the night.
They boxed about some days in the Bahama Channel, and
were several times near the islands, but the negroes would
not allow her to enter any port. Once they were near Long
Island, but then put out to sea again, the Spaniards all the
while hoping they might Ml in with some ship of war that
would rescue them from their perilous situation. One of the
Spaniards testified that, when the rising took place, he was
awoke by the noise, and that he heard the captain order the
cabin-boy to get some bread and throw it to the negroes, in
bope to pacify them. No person appeared on behalf of
tiie Africans, nor was any communication held with them by
230 APPENDIX.
the Judge ; bat, after this eiamiiiatioD, the adults remaining,
thirty-eight in number, were committed for trial for murder
<m the high seas, at the Circuit Court, which was to be held
at Hartford on the 17th of September. The cabin;-boy,
Antonio, and four little children, were committed as wit-
nesses. The whole were then transferred to the jail at
Newfaaven.
According to their own account, they belonged to six
different tribes of Mendi, known to geographers and tra-
yellers as Kos-sa, and lies south-east of Sierra Leone, as we
suppose, from sixty to 120 miles. With one or two excep-
tions, these Mendians are not related to each other, nor did
they know each other until they met at the Slave Factory of
Pedro Blanco, the wholesale trafficker in men, at Lomboko,
on the coast of Africa. They were stolen separately, many
of them by black men, some of whom were accompanied by
Spaniards, as they were going from one village to another,
or were at a distance from their abodes. The whole came
to Havana in the same ship, a Portuguese vessel named
Tecora, except the four children, whom they saw, for the
first time, on board the Amistad, It seems ihst they
remained at Lomboko several weeks, until 600 or 700
were collected, when they were put in irons and placed in
the hold of a ship, which soon put to sea. Being chased by
a British cruiser, she returned, landed the cargo of human
beings, and the vessel was seized and taken to Sierra Leone
for adjudication. After some time, the Africans were put on
board the Tecora, After suffering the horrors of the middle
passage, they arrived at Havana. Here they were put into
a barracoon,-— one of the oblong enclosures, without a roof,
where human beings are kept, as they keep sheep and oxen
near the cattle markets, in the vicinity of large cities,
until purchasers are found, — for ten days, when they were
sold to Jose Ruiz, and shipped on board the Andstady
together with the three girls, and a little boy who came on
board with Pedro Montes. The Amistad was a coaster,
bound to Principe, in Cuba, distant some 200 or 300 miles.
The Africans were kept in chains and fetters, and were sup-
plied with but a small quantity of food and water. A single
APPENDIX. 231
banana, they say, was served out as food for a day or two,
and only a small cup of water for each daily. When any
of them took a little water from the cask they were severely
flogged. The Spaniards took Antonio, cabin-boy, and slave
to Capt. Ferrer, and stamped him on the shoulder with a
hot iron, then put powder, palm oil, kc, upon the wound,
so that they '' could know him for their slave." The cook,
a coloured Spaniard,, told them that on their arrival at
Principe, in three days, they would have their throats cut,
be chopped in pieces, and salted down for meat for the Spa^
niards. He pointed to some barrels of beef on the deck, then
to an empty barrel, and by significant gestures, — as the Men«
dians said, by '' talking with his fingers/' — he made them
understand that they were to be slain, &;c. At four o'clock
that day, when they were called on deck to eat. Cinque (a
chief man) found a nail, which he secreted under his arm.
In the night they held a council as to what was best to be
done. *^ We feel bad," said Kin-na, '^ and we ask Cinque
what we had best do. Cinque say, ' Me think, and by and
by I tell you.' He then said, ' If we do nothing we
be killed. We may as well die in trying to be free, as
to be killed and eaten.'" Cinque afterwards told them
what he would do. With the aid of the nail, and the
assistance of Grabeau, he freed himself from the irons on
his wrists and ankles, and from the chain on his neck. He
then, with his own hands, wrested the irons from the limbs
and necks of his countrymen. It is not easy to give an
adequate description of Cinque when he showed how he did
this, and led his comrades to the conflict, and achieved their
freedom. When delivered from their irons, the Mendians,
with the exception of the children, who were asleep, about
four or five o'clock in the morning, armed with cane*
knives, some boxes of which they found in the hold, leaped
upon deck. Cinque killed the cook. The captain fought
desperately. He inflicted wounds on two of the Africans,
who soon after died, and cut severely one or two of those
who now survive. Two sailors leaped over the side of the
vessel. The Mendians said they ''could not catch land —
they must have swam to the bottom of the sea," but Ruiz
232 APPBNOIX.
aod Montes supposed they reaehed the island in a boat
Cinque now took command of the vessel — ^placed Si-si at the
nidder— gave his people plenty to eat and drink. Ruiz and
Montes had fled to Uie hold. They were dragged out, and
Cinque ordered them to be put in irons. They cried and
begged not to be put in chains, but Cinque replied, " You say
fetters good for negro— if good for negro, good for Spanish
man, too ; you try them two days, and see how you feel.'*
The Spaniards asked for water, and it was dealt out to them
in the same little aup with which they had dealt it out to
the Africans. They complained bitterly of being thirsty.
Ciuque said, '' You say litde water enough, for nigger ; if
little water do for him, a little do for you too.'' Cinque
said the Spaniards cried a great deal ; he felt very sorry;
only meant to let them see how good it was to be treated
like the poor slaves. In two days the irons were removed,
and then, said Cinque, *' we give them plenty water and
food, and treat them very well.'^ Kin-na stated, that as
the water fell short Cinque would not drink any, nor allow
any of the rest to drink anything but salt water, but dealt
out daily a little to each of the four children, and the same
quantity to each of the two Spaniards I In a day or two
Ruiz and Montes wrote a letter, and told Cinque that when
they spoke a vessel, if he would give it to them, the people
would take them to Sierra Leone. Cinque took the letter
and said, " Very well," but afterwards told his brethren,
** We have no letter in Mendi. I don't know what is in
that letter — there may be death in it So we will take
some iron and a string, bind them about the letter, and send
it to the bottom of the sea."
When any vessel came in sight, the Spaniards were shut
down in the hold, and forbidden to come on deck on pain of
death. One of the Africans, who could talk a little
English, answered questions when they were hailed from
other vessels.
At the period this intelligence reached the Havana, I was
about to proceed to England on leave of absence. But
when I ascertained that the trial of upwards of forty
individuals charged with murder and piracy was about to
APPENDIX. 233
take place— described as Ladinos^ or Degrees of Cnba^
legally held in slavery there, whom I knew to be Bozal
Africans recently introduced into Cuba, and to have
been sold at the Havana, and therefore illegally held in
slavery there, I determined to proceed to America at once,
and give on their trial the only evidence which I supposed
could be procured for them, with respect to that important
fact. In taking this step, I encountered some opposition,
and assurances of the disapproval of it, on the part of my
superiors. I felt I had a duty to perform, and a right to
expect it would be approved by the Secretary of State for
the Colonies. In that expectation I was not disappointed.
Xord John Russell approved of the step I had taken. Neither
had I miscalculated tiie importance to the defence of the
evidence I had to offer on that particular point which I have
referred to.*
On my arrival in New York, the first step I was called on
to take by the agents of the prisoners, Messrs. Sedgwick,
was to make a deposition, on the 7th of November, 1839,
whereupon some proceedings respecting the forthcoming trial
were to be founded.
''City and County of New York, ss. Richard Robert
Madden, M.D., being duly sworn, saith, that he has re-
sided in the Havana, in the island of Cuba, upwards of
three years, having been a member of the Mixed Court, and
filling at present the office of her Britannic Majesty's Su-
perintendent of liberated Africans, at said city of Havana.
''The deponent further saith, that having obtained in-
formation that certain negroes in the Spanish schooner
Amistad had been bound over for trial, in one of the dis-
tricts of the United States of America, on the charge of
murder on the high seas, and being fully persuaded that they
were Bozal negroes, or negroes newly imported from Afinca,
who had been illegally brought into the island of Cuba, and
* Extract of a letter from the Colonial Office, dated 2nd
January, 1840 :—*' Lord John Russell desires me to express to
yon his sense of the zeal and ability with which you have advo-
cated the cause of the neg^roes that were brought in the Amistad
to the shores of the United States — (Signed) R. V. Smith."
234 APPENDIX.
apprehending that attempts woold be made to represent
them as Creoles, or as ' Ladinos/ as that class of negroes
long settled in the island and acclimated are called, and
thereby subject them to be punished or remanded into the
hands of those who had illegally and wrongfully obtained
possession of them, proceeded on the 24th day of September
last to investigate the matter, and ascertain the facts of the
case.
'^ The deponent further saith, that he made inquiry in the
Havana from persons engaged in the slave-trade, and from
other persons conversant with matters of this kind, and
having learned that the negroes in question had been re-
cently imported into the Havana from Africa, proceeded,
as directed, to the barracoon, or slave market, called ' La
Misericordia,' which is nearly in front of the governor's
country-house, situated outude of the walls of the Havana,
pn the Paseo Militar, or public promenade, and is exclu-
sively devoted to the reception and sale of Bozal n^roes,
which barracoon is kept by a man named Riera, and there^
in the presence of an individual weU acquainted with the
establishment, learned frt)m a white man who appeared to
be the major domo, or director of the establishment, in the
absence of the keeper named Biera, aforesaid, and who was
giving various directions to carpenters and other persons at
the barracoon, who were working under his orders, that the
fifty-three negroes shipped on board the schooner Andstady
and who had, as was understood at the Havana, made a
revolt and murdered the captain, Ramon Ferrer, at sea, were
recently from Africa, and had been purchased in that barra-
coon, ^ La Misericordia,' by a person from Puerto Prindpe,
and had been embarked for that place in the said schooner
Amistad,
^^ The deponent further saith, that hearing said individual,
who appeared to be the acting master or director of the
barracoon, exclaim *que lastima,' or ^what a pity it
was,' he inquired the reason of this expression of regret,
when the master or director aforesaid explained, and said
that it was occasioned by the loss of so many valuable
Bozals, or newly imported Africans, whose qualities as Bozal
APPENDIX. 236
slaves, and the high price they had brought, were fresh in
his mind, and had occasioned his exclamation of regret that
so much property should be lost to the owners.
" The deponent further saith, that after diligent inquiry
and investigation he is well satisfied that the said negroes
were sold at said barracoon, about the month of June last,
in manner following, viz. : three Bozals, bought from one
Xiques, at the said barracoon, by the Senor Montes ; one
little girl, sent by him from the same for one Azpilaca, and
forty-nine Bozals bought by Don N. Ruiz, on account of his
uncle, DonSatumino Oarrias, a merchant of Puerto Prin-
cipe, not for any property of his, but for sale at that place,
and that all of said Bozals were sold by Senor Biera afore-
said, for and on account of Peter Martinez, a well-known
person, who is engaged in the slave-trade, and had been
recently landed frt)m one of his slavers,
*' The deponent further saith, that said negroes were not,
and could not have been, legally held to slavery at the time
of their importation into the island of Cuba, either in that
island, or in any part of the Spanish dominions, because
they were not slaves at the time of their capture on the
coast of Africa by any Spanish law, or held in slavery by
any legal title, but were to all intents and purposes free by
the laws of Spain, as any white man in England or America
is by the laws of those countries, at the time they were
illegally and wrongfully captured and carried to Cuba, and
subsequently embarked at the Havana for Puerto Principe.
^' The deponent further saith that the kind of passport
granted on this occasion, and on other similar occasions,
called a 'traspasso,' purporting to permit the negroes to
be carried from one estate to another, and giving it to be
understood that the negroes thus sent are Creole negroes or
Ladinos, is a fraudulent document ; and though it bears the
signature of the highest authorities, is known to be such, by
the signers of it, the avowed object being to save the Boztd
negroes thus illegally shipped at the Havana for other
parts of the island, on board schooners like the Amistad, or
as* is most customary, to tranship and eventually transfer
them on board of the various American steam-boate that ply
236 APPBNDIX.
between die Havana and Matanans and Cardenas^ and on
the south side between Batabano and Cienfii^fo and Trinidad,
from being captured by the British cruisers on the coast of
Cuba. The deponent further saith that the resistance made
on board the Amistad by the negroes who had been illegally
0i4)tured, and by force suod fraud carried away in her for the
purpose of being sold or employed as slaves in- Puerto
Principe, was as legally justifiable^ in the sight of Spanish
law, as the conduct in similar circumstances of British or
American subjects would be, were they attacked . by the
piratical proas of the Ladrones in the Indian seas, and seized
and about to be carried into captivity by a crew of those
marauders ; as will appear by the following extracts from the
well-known ccdula, or royal decree of the King of Spain^ of
tiie year 1817 :— 'The Royal Proclamations of the 28th of
September, 1789, the 12th of April, 1798, and the 22nd of
April, 1804, opened an unrestricted slave-trade in national
and foreign vessels, but deeming the term arrived for the
abolition of this trade, &c.' and article the 1st ordains ' that
it shall immediately cease north of the line,' and 'the
negroes who may be brought on the said coasts shall be
declared free at the first port of my dominions at which the
ship in which they are transported shall arrive.' And,
further, the third article delares, that from the dOth May,
1820, ' The traffic shall cease in slaves in all my dominions,
as well in Spain as in America,' the same penalty as in the
former article extending to the crime of carrying on the
trade south of the line, as to the north of it, and in every
ease freedom to the negroes so brought into Spanish colonies.
'' And the deponent further saith, that he understood and
believes that most of the negroes shipped, as aforesaid, on
board said schooner Amistad^ are under twenty years of agey
and not being Creole slaves or Ladino Africans, who had
been brought intp the island of Cuba previously to the year
1820, cannot legally be held as slaves under the Spamish
laws, nor punished fi)r resisting those who were illegally
carrying them into slavery.
" R. R. Mabdbn.
*' Sworn before me, the 7th November, 1839,
JosBPH Stbong, New York."
APPENDIX. ^ 237
The following report is ^ken from the New York Com'^
mercial Advertiser : —
^' We congratulate ourselves on being able to place before
our readers ^e interesting and important deposition of Dr.
Madden^ taken de bene esse, at Hartford^ on the 25th of
NoYeml>er, 1830, at the trial of this case, before Judge
Judson, in the District Court, in a much more complete and
accurate form than it has assumed in any other of the
papers.
<< Dr. Madden testified,
*' ' That deponent is a British subject, who has been resi-*
dent at Havana during three years and upwards ; had held
official situations there during that period for three years ;
the office he at present holds is Superintendent of liberated
Africans ; and for one year that of British Commissioner in
the Mixed Court of Justice. That his duties and avocations
made him well acquainted with the details of slavery and
liie slave-trade in Cuba, and with the class of persons car-
ried from Africa and brought into that island as slaves. That
he has seen the negroes of the Amistad in the custody of the
marshal at Newhaven, with the exception of the small
children, and examined and observed their appearance^
manner, and language, and has no doubt whatever but that
those negroes have been recently imported from Africa, and
are of that class called Bozals. That he spoke with one of
them and repeated, in the Arabic language, a Mohammedan
form of prayer, and that the words, " Allah Akbar," or
** God is great,'* were immediately recognised by the negro,
and some of the words of the said prayer were repeated after
him by the negro. That deponent addressed another negro,
standing by ^e former, in the ordinary terms of oriental
salutation, " Salaam Aleikoum," or, " Peace be to you ;''
and the man immediately replied, '^ Aleikolm Salaam,'' or,
<< With you be peace."
'< ' The deponent has seen and has now befi)re him a do-
cument, purporting to be a permit or licence, called a tras-
passo, for the removal of forty-nine negroes from Havana
to the Amistad, bound to the Porto Principe, granted to
238 # APPBNDIX.
Don N. Roiz, wherem those negpes are called ^' Ladinoe,"
a term given to negroes long settled in Cuba, and acclimated
there, and introduced before 1820; a term totally inappli-
cable to Bozals or negroes recently introduced. This docu-
ment is dated the 526th of June, 1839, and bears the
signature of Espeleta, the captain-general of the island, and
is endorsed '^ Martinez and Co.," and deponent knows no
other Martinez and Co. but the notorious slave-traders of
the Havana of that name.
^' ' He has also seen another document similarly signed,
purporting to be a permit or traspasso for three negro
children, likewise called Ladinos, dated 22ad June, 1839,
and which name of Ladinos is totally inapplicable to Bozal
African children, who could not have been long settled and
acclimated in Cuba. He has further seen an endorsement on
the said document, purporting to be a permission for the
removal of the said negroes, bearing the signature '^ Mar-
tinez and Co." But deponent does not know the hand-
writing of Martinez.
^'^That the custom, on landing the negroes illegally
introduced by the slave-traders of the Havana, is to take
them imme<Uately to the barracoons, or slave marts, which
are fitted up exclusively for the reception and sale of Bozal
negroes recently introduced, where they are kept by the
slave-traders till sold, generally for a period of two or three
weeks ; that among the slave-traders of the Havana, one
of the houses, the most openly engaged and notoriously im-
plicated in slave-trade transactions, is that of Martinez and
Co., and that the custom of this house is, like all other
slave-traders of the Havana, to send the negroes they import
into the island, immediately after landing, to liie bar-
racoons.'
[Then follow||the evidence respecting the sale of the
negroes in the Havana contained in the preceding depo-
sition.]
^' ' That the house of Don Pedro Martinez and Co. con-
tinues openly and notoriously engaged in this illegal traffic,
and his negroes to be sent to his barracoons. That the
APPENDIX. 239
traspassos or permits for all sucli negroes are commonly and
nsually obtained at the Havana simply on application to
the authorities. — The '^Bozal'^ negroes are called ^^La-
dinoSy'' and no examination is made by the governor, or any
officer of his, into the permit granted for the removal of the
negroes falsely called Ladinos, on the simple application of
the buyer, on the payment of the fees required by them.
^^'That to apply for these permits, and obtain them,
representing Bozal negroes as Ladinos, as in the present case,
is a £raud on the part of the purchaser, which cannot take
place without connivance at the trade, and collusion
with the slave-traders on the part of the authorities, who
receive a bounty on the negroes imported from Africa*
That the vast numbers of Bozals thus illegally introduced
are by these means carried into the interior, and fall into
hopeless slavery. That there is no Spanish law in force in
Cuba, either statute or common, that sanctions the intro-
duction of any negroes from Africa, for the purpose of car*
ryingthem into slavery in that island, and consequently that
no negro is legally held there in slavery, who has been
introduced since the year 1820.
'< 'That the object of giving the name of '^ Ladinos" to
Bozals, in the permit or traspasso, is to prevent capture by
the British cruisers on the coast of Cuba. — That deponent
has had charge in his official capacity of many hundreds of
Bozal negroes, when emancipated by the Mixed Court of
Justice at Havana, and having to assist at the registering of
these negroes, can speak confidently as to his opinion of the
ages of such persons; that having examined those of the
Andstad, he states the age of Sa to be about 17, Ba about
21, Sukiawa about 18, Nama about 20, Shama about 26,
Jingues about 24. The ages of the others deponent had not
time to take note of. With respect to the jurisdiction of the
Mixed Commissidn at the Havana, dej^ent says it is
limited to the adjudication of cases wherein negroes cap-
tured in slave ships by Spanish or British cruisers are
brought before it by the captors for adjudication.^
" Cross-examinbd by Wm. S. HoUabird, Esq., U.S.,
district attorney.
240 AJPVEHBIX.
*'2, 'Are not lawful slaves in Cuba, when offered ht
sale, often or generally placed in the barracoons?'
" Atuwer.^^ They are not'
'^8. 'Are not lawful slavet in any part of the islaiid
placed in the barracoons ? '
^^Annoer. — 'At Havana they are not. I cannot say
what is done elsewhere, but on whatever part of the cosst
the slave-trade is carried on there must be barracoons ; they
are things that belong to it^ and are used exclusively for it.
When Creole slaves are sold in the country, they are sold on
the estates, or with them/
"4. 'Is not the use of the native language often con-
tinued for a long time on certain plantations?'
" Answer, — ' I should say the very reverse of this was the
fact. It has been a matter of astonishment to me to bbserve
the shortness of time in which their native language is
disused by the African negroes, and the Spanish language
adopted and acquired.'
" 6. ' Was not the limit of your duties at Havana ; and
therefore the circumstances alluded to may not have been
within your knowledge ? '
" Answer. — ' On the subject of slavery in Cuba, and of
the condition of the negroes held in slavery, I believe I am
as fully informed as any foreigner can be. I have visited a
great many estates, and made many journeys into the in-
terior.'
" 6. ' How many barracoons are there at Havana, and
how many in other parts of the island ? '
"Answer. — 'There are five or six at Havana, outside
the walls, and contiguous to the Governor's country-house.
Wherever the slave-trade is carried on they must be
established for its use. For instance, in the vicinity of
Matanzas there is one, and others on other parts of the
coast.' •
" 7. ' After the negroes are landed, are they not bond fide
transferred by sale, without any interference of the Spanish
authorities, or of the Mixed Commission?'
"Answer. — *When negroes are introduced at all from
Africa into the island of Cuba, they are illegally captured
APPENDIX. 241
and illegally enslaved. And it unfortunately happens that
the Spanish authorities, receiving an impost of ten dollars
a head on each negro thus introduced, which is called a
voluntary contribution, but is in reality a tax which has no
legal sanction for its imposition, never interfere to stop this
contraband trade and transfer, but connive at it, and collude
with the slave-traders ; the manifest evidence of which is
the number of illegal introductions having been, for the last
three years, from 20,000 to 5^,000 a year into the island of
Cuba. As to the interference of the commission, once the
negroes have been landed, it is not to be looked for ; their
jurisdiction extends only to cases of violation of the treaty,
brought before them by the captors of slave ships ; but the
cognizance of the Spanish law on Spanish soil, in this as in
every other case of crime, belongs to the captain-general.'
*'The district-attorney objected to some of the statements
in the deposition being received, which were allowed to
stand, on the understanding that their admissibility was to
be hereafter decided."
The trial at Haiiford was postponed. Another trial took
place. The prisoners were acquitted, and eight months after
were sent back to their own country by the friends of the
anti-slavery cause in America.
The whole number of Mendians on board the Amistad
was fifty-three. Of these, two died of the wounds inflicted
upon them by the captain during the rencontre on board
that vessel ; seven died at sea, and eight at Newhaven, in
consequence of sickness induced by their privations at sea,
and disease contracted by the use of salt water and bad pro-
visions; one was drowned at Farmington; and thirty-five
(thirty-two males and three females) survived to swl for
Africa.
Once more upon the waters ! Whither now,
Brave Cinque ! do thy anxious wanderings tend ?
The gallant ship ! Say, doth her gilded prow
Again her way to climes of bondage wend ?
Art thou once more in chains, and borne along
To regions where thy fetters will be strong ?
M
242 APPENDIX.
Ah no ! Thou art a freeman now ! The air
Yon breathe ia but the breath of Liberty !
No more of sorrow or of dark despair
Shall press thy noble heart. Aye, thou art free t
And even now, far o'er the trackless main,
The good ship flies to bear thee home again.
Home ! Home ! ! thy soul most kindle at the word I
Thou art a huthand^ and thy doating wife
Will greet thee with a heart whose throbs are heard !
Thou art 9i father : thou hast given life
To those who soon will cling around thy knee.
And shout for joy their sire again to see.
Oh I might I then an unseen witness stand,
And see the greetings of thy kindred tltbre —
The wild embrace— the grasping of the hand —
And hear the shouts that then will rend the air —
Of pleasure here I would an age resign,
That for a day I might unite in thine.*
No. XV.
PBODUCB OF SUGAR, DUTIES, ETC.
The following statistics of the Sugar Produce of the
British Colonies in the West Indies, Antigua, Barbadoes,
Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Montserrat, Nevis, St
Christopher, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Tobago, Tortosa,
Trinidad, Bahamas, and also in the British Settlements in
the Bermudas, Demerara, Berbice and Honduras, prior and
subsequent to emancipation, — ^namely, from 1831 to 1846,
both inclusive, — are extracted from a return to an order of
the House of Commons, dated 11th March, 1847 : —
* Farewell Address to Cinque. By J. L. Chester.
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INDEX.
4/Hea — ^importations from, into Cuba, 27 — slaves ezported from,
during sixty years, 199
Agriculture — of Cuba, 178
Allcoyy Conde de — conduct of, 193
America — afflux of capitalists from, into Cuba, xvi — slaves sent
into, 18 — ^increase of Cuban trade with, 56 — commerce of,
with Cuba, opposed by Spain, 57 — ^influence of, in Cuba, and
Texian policy, 82 — advantages conferred by, on Cuba, 84
conduct of, in regard to the annexation of Cuba to the United
States, 85 — Cuba under the flag of, 94 — progress of emanci-
pation in, 185 — ^population of, slave and free, 186 — ^vessels of,
employed to suppress the slave-trade, 222
Amisiad—the captives of the, 228 to 242.
Anderson, Mr. — on the origin of the slave-trade, 19
Anti-slavery — extracts from Reporter, 205 to 209 — address from
British Society on the slave-trade, and extracts from its
reports, 211, 217
Antonio, San — ^population, &c. of, 163
Arango, Senhor — the advocate of Cuban interests, 53
Baker, Mr. — ^insurrection on his estate, 171
Batabano — description of the pueblo of, 169
Bolivar, Simon — manumits his slaves, 25
Bonhomme, M. — statements of, 171
Brazil — extinction of slave-trade in, vi— increased importation of
slaves into, ix — probable duration of slavery in, xviii — ^slaves
embarked for, in 1829, 49 — treatment of slaves in, 155 note
— ^late accounts of slave-trade in, 191 — treaties with, 200 to 205
Buxton, Sir T. F. — on purchase of slaves, xxiii — the profits of
the slave-trade, 44 — the sacrifice of life in the slave-trade, 188
Campeador — ^a condemned slaver, 48
Canning, Mr. — on the slave-trade, 43 — on manumission, 141 —
on the inefficiency of the laws to protect slaves, 154 — on
British merchants engaged in the slave-trade, 224
Cardenas — description of, 163 — sugar estate of Senhor, 166
Carraguao — royal college of, 99, 107
Caso Calvo, Marquis o/^-banished from Cuba for gaming, 76
Casas, Bartholomew iflw— origin of negro slavery falsely im-
puted to, 5 — ^his first visit to Cuba, 6 — receives the title of
" Protector of the Indians," 7 — memorials in favour of the
Indians, 6, 7 — proposes to found a colony on the Main, 8 —
arrives at Cumana, 9 — disappointed at the failure of his
colony, retires to a convent, ib. — unjust treatment of, 10 —
Herrera's charge against, 13 — singiQar omission of, 15 —
extract from his works on the introduction of negroes into
the West Indies, 15 — expresses his regret for his errors, 16 —
apology for, by the Abbe Gregoire, 17 — character of, 23 to 26
M 2
246 INDEX.
Cedulat, Royal — regulatiiig the daty on, and sale of neg^roes, 28—
for abolishing the slave-trade, 30— respecting cock-fighting
and lotteries, 63, 64— on the treatment of slaves, 120—
evasion of the, 128
C«rvan/et— his description of the early West Indian colonists, 1
Chamberlain, Mr,— on the death of slaves, at sea, &c., 47
Channing^ Dr.— on slavery and the annexation of Texas, 87 to 94
Chievru — obtains and disposes of the privilege to purchase and
sell negroes, 18
CAm/tmi— condemnation of the, 49
Cigar» — manufacture and consumption of, in Cuba, 181
Clarence^ Duke q/^— advocates the slave-trade, 184
Clarkeofiy Mr, — successM efforts of, 185
Clay^ Mr.— on the slave-question, 186
Coartada — the term explained, 133 — ^remarks on the, 134 to 136
Cock-fighting — a source of revenue to Spain, 63
Coffee estatee— produce of, 172, 173
Colonisation — ancient and modem principles and policy of, U—
commencement of, in Cuba, 50— remarks on, 67
Columbus — voyages of, to the New World, 10 — death of, 9
Commission Courts — establishment of, 29— number of slaves
liberated by, 40— charges of, 46— reports of, 191, 196—
estimated expenses of, 219
Compensation money — misapplication of, viii — ^xiv.
Cortes, Spanish — Cuba deprived of representation in the, 66
Creo/e«^--disaffection of the, in Cuba, 56, 85
Crop 'time — hours of labour during — see Labour
Cruising squadron — expenses of the, 46
Cuba — supply of labour in, viii — ^increase of slaves in, ix — alarm
of slaveholders at, xv — compared with the West Indian colo-
nies, xvi — ^probable termination of slavery in, xvii — data for
present work on, whence obtained, 1 — population of, at diffe-
rent epochs, 2 — ^proportion of sexes in the slave population
of, 3— increase of slave population in, during fifty-two
years, 5 — commerce of, with Africa, in slaves, 27 — slave-
trade protected by the Spanish authorities in, 31 — ^yellow
fever not confined to the coast of, 35 — slaves nominally eman-
cipated in, re-sold, 39— violation of slave-trade treaties by
Spanish authorities in, 41 — commerce of, 50 — increase of
white population in, 50 — ^misery of the inhabitants of, and
privileges granted to, 51 — ravaged and blockaded by the
French, t^.— relieved by America, 52 — remittances to Spain,
53, 54, 58 — trade of, with the United States, 54 — duties on flour
imported into, 55, 56, 57, 61, 62 — disaffection of the Creoles
in, 56, 165 — extended trade of, 57 — sources and amount of
the revenue of, 59, 196 — ^imports and exports of, 60 — duties
collected in, 61 — ^taxation on white persons in, 63, 91 — cock-
fighting in, a source of revenue, 63 — lotteries in, 64 — state of
parties in, 65 — character and conduct of the people of, 69 to 71
—conspiracy in, suppressed, 71 — contemplated improvements
INDEX. 247
of General Tacon in, 71 — advantages derived by, from the
Americans, 8S— on the annexation of, to the United States,
85 to 96 — state of education in, 97 — teachers and schools in,
98 — cost of primary instruction in, 100 — literature, literary
men, and ihe public press of, 106, 107 — connection of reli-
gion with the State in, 108 — tithes established in, 112 —
condition of slaves in, examined, 114 — agriculture of, 178 —
cultivation and consumption of tobacco in, 179 to 182 — ^sugar
and coffee exported from, 189 — slave-trade in, 191
Cubagua — expelled colonists from Cumana settled at, 9
Cuban commerce — origin, progress, and present state of, 50 to 58
Cumana — colony at, established by Las Casas, 9
Dartmouth^ Lord — despatch of, on the slave-trade, 227
Delmonte, Senhor Z).— on the population of Cuba, 2— on Cuban
education, 97
Domingo, St. — ^population of, 4 — slavery abolished in, by the
French Convention, 5 — the inhabitants of, request permissiou
to introduce negro slaves, 15
Education— state of, in Cuba, 97
Emancipation — progress of, in America, 185
.Bmi^ra^ion— labour in the West Indies to be obtained by, xxii.
Empreaa — ^number of slaves in the, 3 "
Equipment clause — seizure of vessels under the, xxiii.
Estates— svi^ax, 164, 169, 173, 177--coffee, 51, 172, 173—
tobacco, 179, 180
Exports — to the West Indies, xiii. — duty on tobacco in Cuba,
189 — from Havana and Matanzas, 190— of sugar and tobacco
from Cuba, 196
Fama de Cadix — a condemned slaver, 49
Farms — ^in Cuba, 178
Felipe, Marquis San — his estate at La Pita, 165
Fernandina, Count q/*— -conduct of, 146 — estate of, 177
Fernando, San — slave-dealers assisted by the bank of, 33
Ferrer, Ramon — ^put to death by the captives of the Amistad, 231
Firme — a slave-ship, her papers, &c., 34
Fletcher, Mr, — his life of Zimenes, 20
Flinter, Colonel — ^his work on Porto Rico, 38
Flour — Spanish and American, imported into Cuba, 55 — ^imposts
on, 56, 57, 61--duty on English, in Cuba, 62
Forbes, Commander— on tiie slave-trade, 214
Free-trade— on the principles of, vii — extent of, xxii— early
existence of, in Cuba, 50
GaWera—prisoners confined in, 77, 79.
Gaol-rent — ^paid by prisoners in Cuba, 77
Garcia, J, C, — ^banished from Cuba, 76
Gavichi, Don — a celebrated violin player, banished, 77
Goderich, Lord — on West India distress, xii
Goes, Chevalier — ^letter of, on the sale of slaves at Lisbon, 20
Great Britain — efforts of, to abolish the slave-trade, xviii, 183 —
impolicy of, in neglecting to guarantee Cuban liberty, 84 —
248 INDEX.
how interested in the annexation of Cvba and Texas to the
United States, 90— subjects of, implicated in the alare-trade,
223, 225 — prohibition on the fdnctionaries of, 225
Gregoire, Abb^--hi» ** Apology" for Las Casas, 17
Grille* — a company of Genoese merchants, ooatnct to supply
slaves to the Indies, 18
Guanabacoa — murder of a slave at, 146
Guinn — enormities on an estate near, 149 — descriptioii of, 156—
statements of the alcadi at, 168
Havana — insurances at, for dealers in slaves, 33— number of
slave- vessels cleared out from, 42 — schools in, 98 — news-
papers in, 107 — colleges in, 107 — extinction of Jesuits at, 110
— treatment of a slave at, 152 — produce of an estate near,
177— exports from, 190, 196— slave-market at, 234
Henry y Infant Don — ^first employer of negro slaves, 18
Herrera— on the character of Las Casas, 10 — charges him with
introducing negroes into the West Indies, 13 — inconsisteney
of, 14 — on the proposal of Las Casas, 18 — on the slave-
trade, 19
HotioreSf Los-eatate of, 173
Hothatn^ Admiral — ^his evidence on the slave-trade, 183, 203
Hume, Mr. — his remedy for the slave-trade, xix.
Jackson, Lieut. — letter on the slave-trade, 213
JaffOf San, de Cuba — ^proclamation of the Spanish constitution
in, 72
Jamaica — reports of the house of assembly of, x — memorial of the
planters of, xi — ^insurrection in, xiii — wages in, ib, — ^number
of negroes introduced into, 4 — grants of land to British
subjects in, 226 — efforts of the house of assembly to restrict
the introduction of negroes into, 227
Jerome, S. — the fathers of, accompany Las Casas, 7, note—
demand black slaves, 21
Jesuits — extinction of, at Havana, 110
Kilbee, Mr. — on the inefficiency of the cruising system, and the
increase of the slave-trade, 41, 42 — ^reply to Mr. Canning,
143
Kindellan, Brigadier-Gen. — conduct of, 70
Labour — assumed want of, in the West Indies, viii, xvi— -com-
parative expense of free and slave, 36 — hours of, for slaves,
38, 132, 159, 164, 166, 172, 173 to 177
Ladinos — the term explained, 238 — ^improper application of,
239
Licences — to trade in slaves, 18 — issued by the Spanish Govern-
ment, 20
Lindegren, Mr. — ^letter of, to Lord Aberdeen, 215
Lorenzo, General — prematurely proclaims the Spanish constitu-
tion in San Jago de Cuba, 72
Lotteries — established in Cuba, 64 — ^prizes obtained by slaves in,
how employed, 65
Lushington, Dr» — his evidence on tiie slave-trade, 203
INDEX, 249
Luzt Senhor de la^-on education in Cuba, 101 — estate of» at St.
Anna, 164
M* Clearly Mr. — on slave-trade traffic, xxiii.
IiPCleay, Mr, — his account of a slave-trading expedition, 34
Maehado — atrocious conduct of, 147
Madden, Dr.— evidence respecting the captives of ihe Amiatadt
233 to 242
Maldonado — his treatment of Las Casas; 10
Marryat, Mr,— on the state of the West Indies, xi.
Maasourahf Senhor— ^tate of, &c., 169, 170
Matanzaa — ^murder of a slave at, 151— niescription of, 161 —
exports from, 190, 196
Matilda — ^number of slaves in the, 3
Memoranda— -of slaves exported and imported westward from
Africa, from 1788 to 1848, 199
Memorial--of the planters of Jamaica, xi — ^in favour of the
Indians, to the king and also to the Council of Spain, by
Las Casas, 6, 7— of the Portuguese on the seizure of their
negroes, 20
Midas — slave-trade vessel, condemnation of, 49
Mier^ Dr, — ^his letter respecting Las Casas, 22
Mining Companiea — slaves employed by English, 206— impli-
cated in the slave-trade, 223
Mieericordia, La — a slave-market at Havana, 234
Monies f Pedro — and the Amistad captives, 228
Montr eeor — a celebrated singer, imprisoned, 77
Nelson, Lord— on the slave-trade, 184
Olanda — conditions of slaves at, 157, 160
0*Reilly, Conde de — sugar estate of, 166
Orestes — a condemned slaver, 48
Ousely, Mr, — on the inefficacy of the measures to abolish the
slave-trade, 45
Palmerston, Lord — ^his remonstrance to the Brazilian Govern-
ment, 40 — extracts from his evidence on the slave-trade, 201
— circular of, to British consuls, 225
Paria — ^proposal of Las Casas to found a colony on the coast of, 8
Parliament — ^first efforts in, to abolish slavery, 183 — abolition of
the slave-trade by, 185
Parliamentary Papers — on the penalties for dealing in slaves, 31
— on the profits of slave-trading, 34 — on slave-trade mor-
tality, 47 — on slave-trading in Cuba and the Brazils, 191 —
report of select committee on the slave-trade, .198 to 204,
209, 210 — on West Indian population, 217 — expenses of
Commission Courts, 219 — ^retum of the number of ships and
expense of the British cruisers, 221 — ^number of vessels
employed by France and America to suppress the slave-
trade, 222 — on the produce of sugar, &c., 242
Peelf Sir R. — effect of his free-trade principles and tariff, vii.
Pennell, Mr, — on the public sale of slaves, 40
Phoenicians — colonial policy of the, 67
250 INDEX.
Pita^ La — sugar estate at, 165
Ptectdo—the lamentable ftite of, 108
Pope — sUvery reported to be sanctioned hj the, 12-^iilian III.
condemns slavery, 21
Population—of Cuba, 2— of 8t. Domingo, before the revolntion,
4 — of Jamaica, preyious to emancipation, 4 — increase of, in
Cuba, 5— present amount of, 181 — of Matanzas, 162 — of
Cardenas and St. Antonio, 163 — slaTe and free, ot America,
186--of Porto Rico, 215--of West Indies, 217
Porto Rico — slave and firee-trade in, 38— deprived of representa-
tion in the Cortes, 66 — slavery in, 215
Preu — struggles for the freedom of the, in Cuba, 106.
Principe — schools in, 98
Qidntana — his account of Las Cases, and quotations firom his
works, 6 to 22
Railway t — in Cuba, 83 — fares on, and loans for, 156— to Bejucal
from Havana, 163
Repartimientoe — origin of the, 24— share in the, renounced by
Las Casas, 24
Ranaomer8 — proposition to establish, xx»
Real Audiencia — regulations issued by the, respecting slaves, 127
Religion — state of, in Cuba, 105— evils of its connection with the
State, 108
Retenue — ^remitted by Cuba to Spain, 53, 54, 58, 73 — sources of,
in Cuba, 59 — amount of, in Cuba, 60, 196— derived from
cock-fighting, 64 — ^from lotteries, ib.
Robertson, Mr, — ^his opinions and misstatements respecting Las
Casas, 9, 10, 14, 24
RuiZt Jose — account of, and the captives of the Amistad, 228
SacOf Senhor — inconsistent statement of, 5— on free labour in the
West Indies, 35— on the revenue of Cuba, 59— ^qported by
Gen. Tacon, 76
Sagray Senor—hii important statistical work on Cuba, 27 — ^his
account of its revenue, 59, 62— on appropriation of tithes,
112 — on farms in Cuba, 179
Sola de cfM/tnccton^-^prisoners in the, 77
Santiago — condemnation of the, 49
Schools — at Havana, Cuba, and Principe, 98^-normal, at Cuba,
101
Segunda Maria — a condemned slaver, 48
SepulvedOt Dr.— on the character and principles of Las Casas, 11
— on the lawfulness of slavery, 11, note
Sierra Leone — report of commissioners at, 191, 197 — Africans
liberated at, 223
Slaves — increased importation of, into Brazil, ix — how paid for,
xxiii — ^number of, in Cuba, 3 — ^proportions of the males to
females, 4 — ^introduced into Cuba during fifty -two years, 5 —
when first employed, 19 — ^public market for sale of, 20— the
holding of, denounced, 23— commerce of Cuba, with Africa,
in, 27 — duty on, per head, 28— ^treaties for prohibiting the
INDEX. 251
trade in, 29 — ^penalties for trading in, 30 — agencies in London
for dealers in, 32 — expenses and profits of dealers in, 34 —
comparison between the labour of, and that of free men, 3&~-
nominally emancipated, re-sold, 39 — sold by auction, 40 —
mortality of, on board slave-trade vessels, 47 — deaths of, at
sea, 48 — ^number of, embarked for Brazil in six months, 49 —
their mode of employing lottery prizes, 65— attendance of, as
servants, in schools, 103 — ^report of M. Tocqueville on the
condition of, in Spanish colonies, 114 — ^present state of, 120
— ^in efficacy of regulations to protect the, 122 — on marriages
among, 139'~the hours of labour of, 132, 159, 164, 166, 172,
173 to 177 — manumission of, by coartada, or part payments,
133 — estimated price of, 145, 213— cruel treatment of, 146
to 154 — condition of, in the Brazils, 155— on the estate of
Cardenas, 166 — ^insurrection of, at Trinidad, 171 — ^number of,
in America, the West Indies, Asia, and Africa, 187, 188—
number of, from Africa, from 1788 to 1848, 199 — employed
in mines, 208, 223 — efforts to limit the introduction of, into
West Indies, 227 — sufferings and insurrection of, on board the
Amistady 228 to 242.
Slave-trade — probable duration of, in Cuba and the Brazils,
xviii — result of British efforts to abolish the, xviii — Mr.
Hume's panacea for the evils of the, xix — suggested mode of
abolishing the, xxii-'-origin of, 19 — royal cedula for abolishing,
30 — ^protected by the Spanish authorities, 31 — increase of, 41
— expense of British efforts to abolish, 44 — progress of efforts
in Great Britain to abolish the, 183— evidence before the
House of Commons on, 183 — abolished by the British Parlia-
ment, 1S5 — statistics of, in 1847, 188 — in Cuba and the
Brazils, 191 to 195^— reports of parliamentary committees on,
198, 209 — address from Anti-slavery Society on, 211' — ^letter
from Lieut. Jackson on, 213 — remarks of Com. Forbes on,
214 — Commission Courts, expenses of, 217, 219 — ^returns to
Parliament of strength, amount, and charges of cruising
squadron, 221 — vessels of France and America employed to
suppress, 222 — history of the English, 226 — ^protected by the
House of Commons, 226
Slave'Vessels^-captuies of, 48, 49, 197
Spain — ^treaties with, to be enforced, xxii — colonisation of Cuba
commenced by, 50 — revenue of, from Cuba, 53, 54 — restric-
tions by, on Cuban commerce, 57 — various crises in, 69 —
favours the North American merchants in Cuba, 82 — ^nobility
of, maintained by church property, 110 — royal proclamations
of, 236
Stanley f Lord-^-on the West Indies, xiv.
Steam engines — employment of, in Cuba, xv.
Sugar — ^impracticability of re-imposing old duties on, vii— culti
vation of, in West Indies, to be insured by emigration, xxii —
estates in Porto Rico, 38— estates visited in 1837-9, 156 to
179— produce of, 173, 242.
2o2 INDEX.
Syndici — or protectors of slaves, rules for the ^dance of, 127—
when created, 128— conduct of the, 137
Taeon, Creneral — publicly denounces the slave-trade, but in
private promotes it, 31, 32 — brochures respecting, 65 —
policy of, in regard to San Jago de Cuba, 72 — state of Cuba,
on his arrival, and his plans of improvement, 74 — persons
deported by him, 75 — character of, 80 — treatment of slaves
under his government, 146
Tanca, Senhor — ^his description of Gen. Tacon's prison, 78
Taxation-^in Cuba, 61, 97
I^xM—OTL the annexation of, to the United States, 88
Tithes — appropriation of, 112
Tobacco — cultivation of, in Cuba, 179
TocqucmlUj Motu. A, de — ^his report on the treatment of slaves
in the Spanish colonies examined, 114
Tolme, Mr.— on the population, commerce, and agriculture of
Cuba, 2, 3 — on slave-trade insurance, 33
Treaties — for abolishing slavery, 29 — violation of, by the Spanish,
Portuguese, and Brazilian governments, 40
Tribunal ^ Commerce — its decision on the number of slaves to be
allowed, 18
Trinidad — insurrection at, 171
Trist, Mr,-^-ojk the slave population, 3 — ^his policy in Cuba, 86
TSimbulli Mr. — visits Gen. Tacon's new prison, 78 — ^his work on
Cuba, 149
JJbajai — coffee estate at, 173
Ulloa, Don A, — on the early West Indian colonies, 1
Umbelina — a condemned slaver, 49
Uva — ^produce of the, 172
Venezuela — British subjects slaveholders in, 225
Vives, General — conduct of, 71
Vuelto Arriba — the district of, laid out in tobacco plantations, 51
Wages — ^rate of, in Jamaica, xiii
WaUh^ Dr. — on slavery in the Brazils, 155, note
West Indies — state of British colonies in, previous to 1834, x—
Lord Goderich on distress in the, xii— exports to the, xiii —
importance of assisting the colonists in, xv — ^how that assist-
ance may be rendered, xvii — early settlers in the, 1, 226 —
arrival of Las Casas in, 7-*licence to introduce negroes into,
recommended by Las Casas, 16 — census of population in, 217
— attempts to restrict the importation of negroes into, 227
Wilberforce, Mr. — attempts of, to abolish slavery, 183
Yellow fever — supposed locality of, and death of Irish and Grerman
emigrants by, 35
ZimeneSf Carrftmi/— rejects the proposal for negro slavery, 18 —
slave-licences said to be granted by, 20
J. Unw-ik, Grmham Steam Preu, 81, Bncklenbnrr, London.
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